


Overture

by blackberrybee



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Archie Andrews is Jealous, Archie Loves Betty, Bad Parent Alice Cooper (Archie Comics), Betty Cooper Needs a Hug, Betty Loves Jughead, Cheryl throws a party, Chuck Clayton is a perv, Dark Betty, Eventual Smut, F/M, Hal Cooper Being an Asshole, High School, Hurt/Comfort, Jason’s Murder has been solved, Jealous Betty, Jealous Jughead, Jughead Jones Needs a Hug, Jughead loves Betty, Reggie just wants to be included, Self Harm, Slow Burn, Smoking, Southside Serpent Jughead Jones, Strangers to Lovers, Twilight References, Underage Drinking, Weekend at Lodge Lodge, betty girl next door, bughead - Freeform, but not really, choni, jealous Archie, mostly sexual tension, protective jughead, serpents, sexy jughead, she has a mouth on her and is sassy, southside, southside serpents, sweetvee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:21:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Underage
Chapters: 26
Words: 186,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22688407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackberrybee/pseuds/blackberrybee
Summary: “I don’t think I’m strong enough to stay away from you anymore, Betty Cooper,” he said with a whisper.“Then don’t,” Betty replied. Their foreheads touched, lips less than an inch apart when the thundering sound of Sweet Pea’s fists hit the door.“We gotta move, Boss Man. They’re here.”Neither of them thought they needed anyone. They were both content with being alone. Not in a sad way, but being comfortable in their loneliness.When Southside High transfers to Riverdale High, the last person Betty thought she would see was ‘Beanie Boy,’ her regular at Pop’s that had been engaging her in an intense staring battle for the last week.Jughead thought he was prepared to walk into the privileged environment of Riverdale High, but was sorely mistaken. There, standing in the middle of it all was Betty Cooper, the green-eyed girl that captured his soul and held it in a vice grip.One almost face-plant, an undetermined amount of half finished strawberry milkshakes, silent car rides and stolen touches brought Betty and Jughead out of their cycle of loneliness. But is no longer being alone going to be enough?
Relationships: Archie Andrews & Betty Cooper, Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones, Cheryl Blossom/Toni Topaz, Joaquin DeSantos/Kevin Keller, Veronica Lodge/Sweet Pea
Comments: 375
Kudos: 647
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	1. ‘Til I Saw Your Face, Now I Can’t Erase

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone!
> 
> If you have stumbled upon this fic, I absolutely thank you a million times. This is the first fic I have ever written, but I have been reading them for close to ten years. I got into Bughead fanfiction almost a year ago, and had been searching for a very specific type of story. I was able to find pieces of my dream fic in different pieces, but never exactly what I was looking for. 
> 
> So I wrote my dream fic.
> 
> Disclaimer: All characters belong to the creators of Riverdale and the CW Network, I just love them and write AUs. 
> 
> Also no songs or chapter titles taken from the songs are my own, and are only there to help enhance the chapter and serve as a sound track. As I continue to develop this fic I will share the Spotify playlist with you.

_The Less I Know the Better— Tame Impala_

The door to Pop’s Chocklit Shop signaled someone walking in as Betty was wiping down a table near the back. She continued to clear the baskets of discarded fries and greasy parchment paper and when she finished, she straightened up and looked to see who had walked in. Four leather-clad boys headed towards the booth she was working on, but sat down before they got to her.

_Lucky me,_ she thought as they ignored her and began to quietly talk to each other. Exhaling, she walked back up to the front and grabbed four menus and started towards their table.

She had seen them come in on a few of her overnight shifts but never had to wait on them. The one in the beanie and the perfect blue eyes came in more often than the other three. He could be seen drinking endless cups of black coffee at the back of the diner until odd hours of the night. He usually walked in as she was walking out, and though Betty didn’t want to admit it, she found herself lingering at the door when he sat down for an extra moment to study him.

She knew he took his coffee black and usually ordered fries over onion rings. He had an old heavy laptop that he carried with him everywhere and spent hours furiously typing.

She didn’t know his name, but had been referring to him as “Beanie Boy” because of the grey threadbare crown shaped beanie that adorned his head. She noticed that he never took it off and Betty wondered what it would be like to run her fingers through his thick midnight hair.

When she looked back at the table, she found that all four boys were wearing black leather jackets with the Southside Serpent insignia on the back.

It wasn’t that she had anything against the boys in the back booth, but she wasn’t going to pretend that knowing they had some kind of involvement with the Serpents didn’t make her nervous. They all had the same stormy look in their eyes as Beanie Boy. She shivered, whether it was out of fear or anticipation of finally talking to him, she didn’t know.

Steadying herself, she walked over with menus. When she dropped them, she quickly realized that they probably didn’t need them. Instead of backing down and away, she said,

“You probably don’t even need to see these.”

“Nope,” the one with the long hair replied, popping the ‘P,’ “but I’ll take a root-beer float and a thing of fries.”

She turned to the guy with the neck tattoo on and raised one eyebrow, indicating that she was ready for his order.

“Asking what I need, huh?” He said, raising one eyebrow. “Well baby, I need you, wrapped up all around me like you have been in my dreams. Oh,” he said, “and a Chocolate shake, better make it a double chocolate actually. And an order of onion rings.” After a quick pause he said, “please,” with a teasing smirk and handed her the untouched menu.

She swallowed her shock, and spit out the only thing she could think to say.

“You couldn’t even handle me on my worst day,” Betty replied. “Besides, all of our shakes are double chocolate now anyway. You’d know that if you bothered to check the menu.”

Without waiting to see his reaction, she turned and motioned for the boy with the short hair to order with a small, “what can I get you?”

Mouth wide in shock, he stammered out a “same as that guy,” and pointed to Long Hair.

“Okay,” Betty nodded. As she wrote down a quick ‘#2’ next to the first order, she looked up at Beanie Boy in the far corner. She had felt his eyes on her since she first brought over their menus, but refused to acknowledge it or give in to looking back at him until she was ready to take his order. His eyes were a clear and deep blue, yet they were somehow held a stormy and dark feeling behind thick lashes. The left corner mouth quickly twitched and he studied her face. She bit her lip under his scrutinizing gaze, and took a deep breath through her nose.

She was just about to ask him for his order, but before she could he asked, “what’s your name?”

“What?” She responded.

“Your name,” he said, “do you have one?”

“Obviously I have one,” she snapped, “It’s Betty. Betty Cooper. Now, what can I get you today?”

His face turned into an unreadable smirk as he said, “double cheeseburger, all of the fixings, onion rings and a double chocolate shake.”

Betty didn’t make a comment about how much he had ordered in comparison to the others. “I’ll bring your drinks out in just a second,” she said quietly and grabbed the menus from Neck Tattoo. She quickly moved away before she could give Beanie Boy the satisfaction of another glance in his direction.

Ignoring the fact that she didn’t ask for his name for now, she started on their drinks, slowly scooping large portions of vanilla ice cream into tall glasses and pouring root beer over the top. Thankful that she didn’t have to make two different types of shakes, she put all of the ingredients into a blender, counted to sixty, and then stopped it, swiftly pouring the drinks into their own glasses, putting a generous amount of whipped cream on the top, and placing two cherries on each.

Balancing all four glasses along with four water cups on a tray, she walked back over to their table. Once she had set everything down, she began to walk away. Only her shoelace had come undone while she was walking over, and she felt her body plummeting towards the ground. The only thing she could think of was, _god, I wish Beanie Boy didn’t have to see me make a fool of myself right now._

She braced herself to hit the ground hard, only she found herself being quickly righted and placed on someone’s lap. _Am I dead_ she thought? Keeping one eye tightly shut, she opened the other and examined the carnage. 

She was sitting on Neck Tattoo’s lap like it was the most normal thing in the world. She opened both eyes and looked at him. He must have grabbed her before she had fallen too far, and the force needed to right her must have sent her into his lap.

_What the literal fuck? How did I even manage to get into this situation. Thank god I didn’t hit my head on the pole. Why are my hands on my shoulders? Is Beanie Boy looking? Is he mad? Wait Betty, why do you even care?_

“If this is your worst, I think I can handle you any day, Coop. And if this is your way of letting me know you’re interested...” he trailed off, “just know, I fully reciprocate,” Neck Tattoo said with a sly smile.

Betty looked at him for a moment and realized that his smile, while wholeheartedly mischievous held no malice or threat.

_Oh my god he is hitting on me. I can feel Beanie Boy staring at me and gauging my reaction as I sit here, still on Neck Tattoo’s lap, hands on his shoulders._

“Thanks?” She said, though it came out like a question. “Yeah,” she said more sure of herself, “thank you. And no, not interested,”

_God, Elizabeth. Can you get even more desperate? He isn’t even looking at you and definitely doesn’t care about you sitting on his friend’s lap._

“Don’t sweat it, Coop. I know you want me, you’re already falling for me,” he said with a wink. Without thinking, Betty raised her arm and lightly slapped Neck Tattoo across the face.

_Oh. My. God. Now I am truly about to die. This is the end. R.I.P Elizabeth Cooper. Died by slapping a Southside Serpent in the face. The absolute dumbest person to ever grace planet Earth._

The whole table went utterly still and silent. Betty smacked her hand to her mouth and stared at Neck Tattoo with wide eyes. From behind her, she could hear what sounded like the air slowly being let out of a balloon. Beanie Boy was trying desperately to not laugh, when Neck Tattoo simply said,

“Oh so you like it kinky, huh Coop? Now I know I can really show you a good time.”

At this, everyone burst into uncontrollable laughter, even Betty. She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She could feel the eyes of Beanie Boy burning through her skin, so she twisted to look behind her. Their eyes met, and Betty gasped slightly at the image of him, eyes alight with laughter.

“What’s your name?” Betty asked. “If we’re going to be fucking, I might as well know what to moan other than “neck tattoo.” The table erupted into a whole new round of laughter. She kept her eyes on Beanie Boy the entire time, and even though he continued to laugh, his eyes turned dark again, and Betty immediately knew she had said something wrong.

_Aha, so he is bothered by me joking about being with Neck Tattoo._

“It’s Sweet Pea, darling,” he said with a lazy drawl.

“Well,” Betty said getting off his lap, “must be because you’re so sweet, like a twelve year old.”

This here is the moment that if she were to look back on it, she would realize she made a mistake (or the best decision she’d ever make).

She kissed Sweet Pea on the cheek while maintaining eye contact with Beanie Boy. His eyes got even darker somehow, and he could no longer keep up the laughing facade. His whole body turned to stone, and it somehow made Betty feel powerful, like she held all of the cards in a game she wasn’t aware she was playing.

“In all seriousness, thank you for catching me. I couldn’t stand the idea of smacking my face into this pole... again...” she trailed off, not meeting anyone’s gaze.

“Does that happen often?” Beanie Boy asked in a tone of disinterest, but there was a hint of concern.

“More often than it should,” she said, never breaking eye contact with him. She crouched down to tie her shoe and when she was done, she patted Sweet Pea on the cheek.

“Thanks for not letting me fall,” Betty said, and walked away while throwing one last glance at Beanie Boy.

She knew one of their names, but not the rest. She wondered if they all had unique nicknames, or if it was just him. She figured not, considering one boy was wearing a crown shaped beanie and suspenders hanging down off his hips.

She remembered how she could feel his gaze while she was taking their orders and when she was sitting on Sweet Pea’s lap. The gazes felt different though. When she was taking their orders, his eyes felt like like they were trying to peel her open and apart while trying to get a good look into her soul. When she was sitting on Sweet Pea’s lap, she felt that his gaze was a mixture of rage and protective, only diffused when she removed herself and made the comment about his name.

He did seem very bothered by me kissing Sweet Pea on the cheek though. Not a theory I want to keep testing, but something to keep in mind.

His tone when he heard that she often fell was one that she had never heard before. With so few words, she could tell he wanted to ask her more, dig deeper into the ways she could get hurt, and save her from all of them. It was utterly indifferent but that one note of protectiveness and worry that snuck through said it all.

Betty was lost in thought about pain and suffering now and stared down at her palms at the crescent shaped scars that lined the top of her hands. She wondered what he’d think about those.

She didn’t realize she was looking back up and staring at him until all of a sudden, her breath caught and he was staring right at her. This time, she felt that his eyes were trying to tell her something, give her a message that she couldn’t quite understand. She wanted to break his gaze and check to see what was taking their food so long, but she couldn’t. She felt both pulled towards him and cast out, like his eyes were trying to drink her in and toss her aside.

After what felt like days of staring, the bell in the window dinged and she went to grab their food. She dropped it off at their table, asking the two boys with the root beer floats if they wanted refills. They declined and she walked away. She didn’t get far before Long Hair called out.

“I’m Joaquin, and this guy is Fangs,” pointing to Short Hair.

“Oh good,” Betty replied, “Now I can stop calling you Long Hair, Short Hair and Neck Tattoo,” and walked back over to the counter.

Her shift was ending soon, so she started to wipe down all of the tables on the other side of the diner. She was happy that the boys were her last table of the night and that no one else was sitting down when she fell and subsequently sat on Sweet Pea’s lap.

“Everything okay here, boys? Sweet Pea, are you satisfied enough?” Betty knew she was opening a can of worms, but she couldn’t help but test her theory about Beanie Boy and his confusing reactions. Sweet Pea, Fangs and Joaquin’s faces broke out into grins, where Beanie Boy’s remained stoic.

“It was great, Betty,” Joaquin said kindly.

“Yeah, Coop. It was absolutely satisfying to slurp that thi—“

“I’d freeze right there if you don’t want to get slapped again,” Betty warned.

_Fuck. You did not think this through Cooper. Abort mission, abort._

“But you—“

“She said stop talking, Pea.” Beanie Boy’s voice was assertive and final. There was no room for questioning who was in charge in this scenario.

“Fine,” Sweet Pea huffed. “Cooper, everything was excellent. The food, the shake, the view...” he trailed off and looked in her direction. She couldn’t help but laugh at this, and he seemed relieved. “How about you, huh? Were you satisfied?”

“Oh I will be, if one of you leaves me a sizable tip.” She said the last word with emphasis. “I know it won’t be you since you don’t have one... so maybe Joaquin or Fangs is up for the job.” She smiled sweetly at him and tried not to laugh at his shocked face.

Betty ignored the fact that she deliberately left out Beanie Boy’s name from her joke, and finished cleaning the table. All she had left was his milkshake glass. Betty reached to pick it up, but he grabbed her wrist before she got a chance.

“Aren’t you going to ask what my name is?”

It felt like a mix of a genuine questioning and a threat. They stared at each other for a few moments before she gently removed her wrist from his grasp. With the way he was holding it, he could probably see the indents of her fingernails, and that wasn’t a conversation that she wanted to have. Ever. 

He didn’t put up any fight and let her go easily. She held his gaze for one more moment before straightening up and walking away with their plates. She stopped about ten feet away from the booth before calling back,

“You’ll tell me when you’re ready.”

Betty heard one of the boys snorting and didn’t stop to turn around as she walked into the kitchen. When she came back out they were no longer there, and Betty felt herself exhaling a breath that she didn’t know she was holding. The knot in her stomach that had been ever present since she and Beanie Boy had first made eye contact only tightened when she realized she really hadn’t gotten his name. 

_You told him to not tell you until he was ready, Betty. If he had wanted you to know, then you would know._

When she looked down at the counter, she saw the bill. A $100 bill was all that was on top, meaning someone left a $70 tip on a $30 meal.

_Sizable_ , she thought.

Betty pocketed the money and waved to older woman coming in to work the next shift. She looked down at the receipt with and saw one phone number on it. 

_Fuck you, Beanie Boy,_ she thought, and threw the receipt in the bin. _You don’t get to stare at me with dreamy eyes and make me feel all sorts of things and not give me your name AND THEN leave your phone number on a Pop’s receipt._

Even with her inner tirade, she couldn’t help but think that this wasn’t the last time that she was going to see Beanie Boy.

* * *

_I am ready, Betty. But you’re not, that’s the problem. I need you to know my name, but everything will change when you do._

“Betty man, she’s a fine piece of ass,” Sweet Pea said with an exhale of his cigarette. “She totally wants me. Did you see her on my lap? I mean god damn she could get it if she wanted. The way she felt on my lap oh yes. I mean damn, how hadn’t we talked to her before? She works every Thursday night and some weekends. Seriously guys” Sweet Pea exclaimed, “how?”

_Shut the fuck up before I make it impossible for you to ever speak again, Sweet Pea. Do not say another word about how she felt on you._ Jughead felt his body starting to vibrate with the urge to punch out Sweet Pea and protect Betty. He knew that Pea talked about all women this way, and would be on to the next as soon as they hit the Wyrm, but it still felt like his skin was too tight for his body. He was jealous, a feeling he had never felt before, of a girl tripping on her shoelaces and falling into Pea’s lap.

_Pathetic,_ he thought.

“We probably haven’t spoken to her because, A) she has never waited on us before, and B) you’re only interested now because she tripped and, thanks to your help, literally fell on your dick,” Joaquin stated matter-of-factly.

Sweet Pea grinned a sheepish grin and took another drag. “Yeah... I left my number on the receipt, so maybe she’ll call. But probably not, since she seemed to spend a long time staring at Jug,” Sweet Pea said.

They all turned their heads to him, and Jughead took a drag himself. He used the time to come up with a response that would please them but not tip them off to the thoughts he was having.

“I didn’t notice,” was what he came up with. 

_But you did, you son of a bitch. It’s all you could think about, and probably all you will think about until you figure out a way to tell her your name._

He had noticed Betty staring at him and he could say with all certainty that she noticed him staring too. He couldn’t help it, she was the most intriguing person he had ever seen. Her emerald green eyes bore holes into him, and he thought that if she tried hard enough, she could see right through him and into his soul. She didn’t back down from his questions, and didn’t seem scared by him either.

He knew that under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have been able to get away with something so asinine. But his situation wasn’t a normal circumstance. Jughead Jones, son of notorious drug dealer and former Serpent King, FP Jones, was now the youngest leader in Serpent history and commanded the respect of every person in Riverdale. 

Unlike his now incarcerated father, Jughead started to turn the Serpents around, moving from running drugs and guns to just guns. Their main source of income was the new mechanic shop that had opened as soon as his dad was locked up. They had to keep running guns because of their deals with other gangs in the north east and Canada. If they stopped altogether, Jughead couldn’t assure that the Serpents and even the town of Riverdale as a whole would be safe. 

So he continued to turn a blind eye at the illegal activities that his gang was running and let Sweet Pea handle that operation. Pea had no worries about being in charge, and his intimidating demeanor made it all the more obvious that he needed to take that lead.

Though it was cliché and obvious, all Jughead wanted to be a normal Riverdale teenager and ask Betty on a date, tell her his name, hell even leave his phone number on a receipt 90s movie style. But all he could do is choke up, play it off as indifference, and drop a hundred on a $30 bill. 

_Choose not to ask me about my tip again, Betty Cooper, and I’ll make sure you never make that mistake again._

What bothered him most by the situation, was the feelings he felt towards her when she was sitting in Pea‘s lap. Though this wasn’t the first time he’d seen her, it was the first time he’d gathered the courage to actually speak to her. So when he saw her sitting on Sweet Pea’s lap, laughing a beautiful bell like laugh at his name, he felt a white hot rage building. 

Then she slapped him. 

Jughead didn’t know if any woman had ever slapped Sweet Pea, but he loved it. The slap was like a small bucket of water being poured on a roaring fire— effective, but only slightly. 

When she said, _“If we’re going to be fucking, I might as well know what to moan other than “neck tattoo,”_ Jughead turned to stone and almost slammed his hands on the table and walked out. When she kissed Pea on the cheek and never broke eye contact with him, Jughead knew he was in trouble. He knew she could tell that she effected him, but he wasn’t going to do anything about it. The humming in his ears was only diffused by her exit and hearing Joaquin and Fangs joke about her response to Sweet Pea’s name. 

Before she even got back to the counter, Joaquin introduced himself and Fangs, but not Jughead. Joaquin knew that normally he didn’t like it when people introduced him, but this was different. He wanted her to know his name. He wanted her to talk to him outside of pleasantries at a diner.

But when he grabbed her wrist, effectively pulling her closer to him, he lost all the nerve to just say, “I’m Jughead.” Instead he got lost in the smell of strawberries and vanilla, and green eyes that could get him to spill all of his secrets at one look.

He was holding her hand in such a way that he could see her palm, and what he saw made his stomach tie up in knots. He thought he might throw-up the dinner he had just finished. On her palm were tiny crescent shaped scars that could only have come from her own fingers. Could only have been created with extreme pressure. Only inflicted under extremes. He wanted to flip her palm face up so he could examine the scars and demand to know who had made her do this to herself, to let her know that he too felt like it was too much.

But she didn’t even know his name, so he couldn’t really justify demanding any information.

_You’ll tell me when you’re ready._

Those words would probably haunt him until he next went to Pops. He knew she worked the Sunday lunch shift, and he would be there, ready to introduce himself. What he was going to do with the aftermath of the introduction, he didn’t know. All he knew was that he knew her name, where she worked, and that she had no real idea who he was or what he’s done.

“Do you think she goes to Riverdale High?” Sweet Pea asked. Thankfully, his tone was just genuine curiosity and not something that Jughead would have reacted brashly to.

“Probably,” Joaquin replied. “She sure looked like she was our age, maybe even a year younger.”

“I wonder if she knows who we are, or that we’re even coming in,” Sweet Pea mused.

“Probably not, Pea. She would have said something if she knew.”

_Ah yes, Riverdale High. A whole new circle of hell that needs to be dealt with starting on Monday. Think you could work up the courage to ask her about it on Sunday? Think you could work up the courage to even tell her your fucking name, Jones?_

Sweet Pea, Joaquin, and Fangs all walked up to the door of the White Wyrm, but Jughead stayed where he was. 

“Jug,” Fangs said quietly, “are you coming in?” He pointed to the side door and looked at him for an answer. Jughead nodded once, and took his last drag. He put out his half finished cigarette, stuck back into the carton, and followed them inside.


	2. It’s All Down Hill From Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How many names do you have?!” She exclaimed.
> 
> “Three. Well four, now that we’ve established that Beanie Boy is the best of them all.”
> 
> “Okay well why do you call my by my full name? You always say “Betty Cooper.” I think it’s unfair that you know my _whole_ name and I don’t know yours,” she said with some anger.
> 
> “Because your full name is beautiful, and I will never get tired of saying it,” he said with a note of finality usually reserved for a disobeying Serpent. 
> 
> If she was effected by his sentiment, she didn’t show it. “Hmm,” she replied. “Well okay Beanie Boy who actually has three other names that he _still won’t tell me,_ what would you like today?
> 
> After a few moments of speculation he said, “I’ll take whatever you usually order.”
> 
> “Seriously?”
> 
> “Seriously.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello sweet readers!
> 
> Wow... thank you to all who left comments and kudos and book marks (oh my!) It has made writing this so enjoyable and I love you all immensely.
> 
> I really hope you enjoy this chapter, there is more Betty/Jughead interaction and conversation and some Dark!Betty thrown in there as well.
> 
> So now... here’s chapter two!

_Pink + White— Frank Ocean_

Pink. Everything in Betty’s life was pink. Pink walls, pink bedspread, pink lipsticks on the pink and white desk. At one point Betty didn’t despise the color, but living in a monochromatic life didn’t do much for ones soul or self esteem.

Her mother was the catalyst of her self deprecation. Alice Cooper demanded nothing but perfection from Betty for as long as she could remember, however, it got even worse when her sister went off the rails and tore a hole through Alice Cooper’s performative perfection.

When Polly was sent away, Betty was forced deeper into Alice’s mold, and pink, a color that she was fairly indifferent to, became a color that screamed imprisonment as the walls of her bedroom slowly closed in on her.

So she lived in a lonely world of pink perfection. Her routine was the same everything every day. Wake up around 5:30am, run for a half an hour, eat some unsubstantial breakfast that didn’t do anything to curb the hungry monster in her stomach, shower, put on a pink sweater and light blue jeans and walk to school with Archie.

Her mother didn’t really approve of Archie, or any of Betty’s friends, but that was probably because she couldn’t control them or their parents. Alice especially didn’t approve of Archie because his room directly faced Betty’s. Alice had once tried to nail her window closed but Hal, Betty’s father, reminded her that it was a fire hazard and Alice screamed,

“I’d rather the house catch on fire with everyone in it than have that miscreant Andrews be able to see into our daughter’s room!”

Betty remembered that everyone froze for a moment before Hal was quickly able to point out that they could instal _shutters_ on the _outside_ of Betty’s windows so she couldn’t open them from the inside, and that no one needed to die in a fire over a fifteen year old.

Alice stomped around the house for about twenty minutes before she got over it. But Betty clearly remembered her kissing Hal on the cheek and the two of them going to buy shutters that never even ended up being installed.

That was in the before.

Now Betty lived in the after. And in the after, Archie walked her to school each morning and would complain about something Betty had no interest in. She only ever focused on the cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese that Archie snuck her each morning so she didn’t collapse from hunger in the middle of chemistry.

_That happened once. She was walking out of history to her second period chemistry class when her vision clouded over like a storm rapidly rolling in. When she woke, it was like what one would see in a movie. Way too many people were crowded over and around her, and the tiny men drumming against the inside of her skull begged everyone to be quiet._

_Cheryl and Veronica finally cleared through the crowd and got her to the nurse. Betty spilled about her mom basically starving her, and how she hadn’t eaten since the previous day’s lunch. Enter Archie. It became his job to bring her breakfast on their walk and Cheryl and Veronica checked in as they entered._

Coming out of her cream cheese induced reverie, she found herself focusing on the way Archie wouldn’t stop touching her; whether it was on her arm or low back as he guided her into the school, or the arm that he slung over her shoulders. 

He liked her, Betty knew that, but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it. At the end of last school year she would have been jumping for joy at this new development of feelings, but ever since Beanie Boy started coming into Pop’s, she found herself less and less effected by Archie and his growing interest.

Betty wasn’t going to deny that she had felt something for Archie, because doing so would be a lie. But she also wasn’t going to deny that her crush on Archie was just that, a crush. An infatuation with the idea of the boy and girl who lived next door to one another and could see into each other’s bedrooms, writing notes to each other like they lived in a Taylor Swift music video. Co-Captain of the cheerleading squad and the quarterback. In Betty’s eyes, they had been meant to be.

She also didn’t want to outright reject him, because deep down she enjoyed the attention. She liked being someone’s first choice, even if that wasn’t how he had seen her just a few months ago.

But then she saw Beanie Boy, and it was almost an instant cease of her infatuation with Archie, and wasn’t until yesterday’s stare down that Betty realized she was in deep trouble. Whether Beanie Boy knew how he effected Betty or not, he drew her into him in a way that she couldn’t explain.

“Earth to Betty,” Archie said with a semi-impatient tone.

“Oh, sorry Arch, must have gotten lost in the bliss of my bagel again.”

“It’s all good Betty. You know I love it when you actually get a chance to eat. I was just asking if you had any ideas about what Weatherbee was going to announce today at the all school assembly. I can’t even remember the last time we had one...” Archie trailed off and looked like trying to remember caused his brain to malfunction.

Betty remembered. It was when Jason Blossom’s body was found and Sheriff Keller asked anyone who had any information to come forward and give a statement. Betty knew something at the time, but didn’t want to put anyone else in danger. At the time of his death, Polly was pregnant with Jason’s babies, and his murder was linked to the fact that the Coopers and the Blossoms were... related.

When the Blossoms found out that Polly was pregnant, they basically kidnapped her and forced her to live in their drafty, old, creepy mansion. Polly giving birth to twins was something that Cheryl Blossom, Jason’s twin sister, was overjoyed about, and the most shocking thing that came from Jason’s death was the new unbreakable bond between Betty and Cheryl.

Cheryl was not one to show affection towards anyone other than Jason. She was known as a callous and cold hearted bitch who had it out for everyone and only took care of herself. Well, and Jason. But when he died, Cheryl took a slap to the face as she started to sink into her own kind of loneliness. Rather than taking a look at herself and doing some in-depth soul searching, Cheryl decided that she needed a new other half, and took to Betty like a moth to a flame.

Betty didn’t mind, because it meant that she actually had a family member who looked out for her and spent time thinking about her well-being. Cheryl knew about Betty’s crumbling home life, and always offered a safe-haven when she needed it.

“Oh right! It was when we found out that Jason was dead and that his killer was actually Clifford Blossom, not FP Jones.”

_Good job, Arch. Only took you three days to get there._

“Yeah, Arch, that’s when we last had one.”

“Didn’t FP like go to jail even though he didn’t murder Jason? Like the cops found out that the Serpents we’re dealing drugs and guns and all sorts of stuff like that?”

“Yep,” Betty said a bit impatiently. This was not the first time that she and Archie had had this conversation, and she was getting really tired of having to constantly remind him of that.

This time she chose not to, instead refocusing on the last few bites of her bagel as they walked up the steps to school. Because there was an all school assembly, Betty got to miss her first period History class and sit in the back row of the auditorium with Cheryl and Veronica.

Betty wasn’t always a back row student, but she became one after they broke through her Alice induced haze of unnecessary perfection. When she sat down next to them, Cheryl handed her some form of fancy coffee in an even fancier travel mug and Veronica handed her a tote bag filled with a “V Approved” outfit for the day.

What might be the best thing about their friendship was that they helped Betty finally understand her deep seated hatred towards the pastel clothing that filled her closets. So they always brought her something to change into before the first bell. Today with the assembly, she couldn’t afford to change ahead of time, so she took the tote bag and stashed it under her seat.

“This is absolutely triggering and I feel like I should have a pass to not be here,” Cheryl moaned. “I mean, do they even take into account the fact that I had to listen to the whole school begin to gossip about JJ last time I was here?”

“Cheryl weren’t you the one who took the microphone from Wetherbee and made the announcement yourself?” Veronica asked.

“That is so not the point! I should have an excuse not to be here. The moment it gets to be too offensive, we’re walking out.”

Without thinning, Betty snapped, “Drink your coffee and eat your damn yogurt, Cheryl.”

“Woah there Betty Boop,” Cheryl said at the same time as Veronica replied, “Ay díos mío, is your ponytail too tight?”

_Fuck, Betty. Can you get any dumber? How do you explain to them that your morning sucked because of Alice and her sharp tongue and Archie disrupting your inner monologue and fantasy about Beanie Boy?_

“Archie wouldn’t stop touching me today on our walk in. It wasn’t inappropriate or anything, just not something I need to deal with when I’m hangry and recovering from an Alice Cooper emotional beating.”

_Okay, close enough to the truth. But why are you omitting Beanie Boy anyway? There’s nothing going on between the two of you! Intense gazes and electric shocks at contact mean nothing! Don’t try to convince yourself otherwise._

“Oh I’m sorry B,” Veronica said while leaning across Cheryl to pat her leg. “You know all you need to do is tell Archie you aren’t interested in him and I’m sure he’ll back off. And if he doesn’t, Cheryl keeps a pretty sharp nail file on her at all times.”

“It’s true” Cheryl declared while flipping her bright red hair over her shoulder. “I also know where to bury a body. The Blossom estate is very large you know.”

She smiled evilly and applied another coat of cherry red lipstick. The three girls could not be more different in style. Cheryl, who had legs for days and the most flawless skin that Betty had ever seen, was always wearing red and never wearing pants. Betty didn’t know how she did it. She herself was constantly cold and could always be found wearing multiple layers. As for Cheryl, the word “layers” didn’t even exist in her vocabulary. At the absolute most you could see her wearing stockings under her short _short_ shorts or skirts, but that was about it.

On the other hand, Veronica’s style screamed Park Avenue Princess meets high class funeral. She didn’t own a single piece of clothing (yes, including her bras, panties _and_ socks) under $100. She only brought designer bags to school even though her books didn’t fit in them, and was never seen wearing anything other than shades of black, dark blue and dark purple. Her jet black hair and fiery spirit made her one of Betty’s fiercest allies, and she was eternally grateful that she moved last fall.

Veronica Lodge, daughter of Hiram Lodge, shocked everyone when she crashed into planet Riverdale and tried to take it by storm. She moved from the richest of the rich in Manhattan to the quaint murder mystery novel in upstate New York.

Her father had been convicted of fraud and money laundering, and since he had been acquitted, he was able to join Veronica and her mother Hermione. Veronica was over the moon ecstatic, Cheryl didn’t care, and Betty was under the impression that his shady dealings weren’t yet over.

When V arrived, she thought she’d be the HBIC of Riverdale High, but ran face first into a solid wall of Cheryl Blossom. They passive-aggressively fought over Betty and almost got into a fist fight over the cheerleading squad, the River Vixens. At first Betty thought that one of them would end up dead or at least have a black eye, but they surprised themselves and Betty alike when one rainy morning they walked into school together, arm and arm, telling Betty what the three of them would be doing that night.

In the end, Betty didn’t know where she would be if it weren’t for Veronica and Cheryl.

_You’d probably be dating Archie Andrews, twenty pounds underweight and living in an absolute pit of despair._

“You know he’s only following you around because of what happened this summer,” Cheryl smirked.

“That was a complete mistake and miscalculation of judgement on my part and I’ve regretted it every single moment of my life ever since!” Betty screeched.

“Shh! Keep it down B! We all know you regret what happened at the party, but at least you got it over with,” Veronica tried to reason.

“Can we just drop it? I realize that that might be the reason Archie has feelings for me but it’s just lust and infatuation. Last year’s Betty would be jumping at the chance to have Archie, but now he kind of just grosses me out.”

She could see that they wanted to respond, but Wetherbee was walking up to the podium in the front of the auditorium and Betty was saved from a discussion they’d had close to a million times since last summer.

The sound of the microphone being tapped swiftly on the head sounded just as Principle Wetherbee cleared his throat and said,

“Good morning Riverdale High Students. Thank you so much for coming in this morning for the assembly.

“As some of you may know, the population of students at Southside High is rapidly declining as more and more Southside residents are electing not to go to school.”

The audience snickered at this, and Betty could hear Chuck Clayton make some form of aggressive, and probably offensive, comment from the middle rows.

“That being said, because there are so few students attending Southside High, we will be merging the two schools and the remaining Southside students will be enrolled here as of Monday.”

At the word “merging,” the student body broke into a cacophony of complaints, worries and expletives. Even Veronica started yelling and Betty could have sworn she heard her mutter, “Daddy is going to hear about this!”

Betty could see Archie walking over to his football buddies with a pained and confused expression on his face.

_God, Archibald. Why are you always confused? It’s simple see, the students who actually want to learn and haven’t been corrupted by gang violence are headed this way. None of them currently play football nor do they want to play football. So, you’re fine._

She didn’t know when her inner-monologue turned so hostile against Archie. He had genuinely never done anything to Betty that should lead her to treating him this way. Maybe it was when the rose colored glasses came off and she snapped out of her Archie induced haze.

“The only good thing that could possibly come of this merger is new cute boys,” Veronica sighed.

 _”And girls,”_ Cheryl stressed.

 _Cute boys..._ Betty thought. _Beanie Boy is cute, well no, Beanie Boy is beautiful, but that’s besides the point. Does he go to Southside? Is he our age? He didn’t look like it, but who knows. Joaquin and Fangs looked like they could be in high school, but not Beanie Boy or Sweet Pea. Maybe if Joaquin and Fangs start at here, I can find out more about Beanie Boy and his life... or maybe even just his fucking name._

“I will be sending out an email to all of you and your parents over the weekend. The new students will be starting on Monday,” Wetherbee yelled into the mic, trying to break through the uproar. “Now please get to your next class!”

Betty, Veronica and Cheryl stood up with the rest of the school and inched their way out of the auditorium. They walked to the girls bathroom by the cafeteria and Cheryl locked the door behind them. Betty stepped into one of the stalls and started to change into what Veronica brought her.

It was an oversized sweater with lavender, mustard, baby blue and navy stripes going down the front, and black and white stripes going up the sleeves. Veronica also packed a pair of the softest black leggings Betty had ever felt, and she slipped those on under the sweater.

Putting her other clothes in the tote, she stepped out of the stall and stood in front of the mirror.

“I think I’m just going to leave it in the pony tail today. Too much of a hassle to try to get the rubber band indent out from the middle.”

“You’re not wrong,” Cheryl said as she pulled out a tube of mascara and handed it to Betty. She gently applied a small amount before capping the bottle and handing it back to Cheryl. She was fixing her lipstick when Veronica said,

“Daddy said that they’re shutting Southside down altogether. Not just because kids aren’t going anymore, but because someone _bought_ the school. Don’t you think that’s a little weird?”

“No, because Wetherbee probably doesn’t know himself. Like you said V, your dad gave you this information, and let’s not pretend that all of his informants do their work on the books.”

“Oh, Betty. You really did have a bad morning,” Veronica said sweetly. It wasn’t the type of sweet that reminded Betty of Alice when she was trying to back Betty into a corner in front of company. This was a sweetness from a friend who genuinely loved Betty and cared for her. A friend who wanted the best for her.

“I just didn’t sleep well last night. And when I got back in from my run, Alice made some comment about how fat I was getting which sent me into an absolute tailspin. So I was really looking forward to eating my bagel and listening to Archie talk, but he had to ruin it by touching me! And this thing with the Southside is whatever but it’s also annoying because we don’t know anyone from there. Like, we’ve never even interacted with a single kid our age and now they’re dropping a bunch in on us in the beginning of October? Like honestly. What. The. Fuck!”

At the last word, Betty slapped her palms on the counter, making Cheryl and Veronica jump.

“I’m sorry guys,” she whispered, “it’s been one of those weeks and I didn’t realize how upset I was until now.”

She managed to get through this without breaking down in sobs. Curling her nails into her palms, she pressed down until she felt the pressure in her head start to alleviate.

Without a word, Veronica turned on the cold water and Cheryl busied herself on her phone in the corner. When Veronica joined her, Betty uncurled her fists and ran them until the cool water that V had left running. It was an unspoken rule between the three of them. They all had their own unhealthy ways of coping with the pressure. Cheryl would drown herself in a bottle of tequila, and Veronica would get so stoned that she couldn’t see. They knew how to help each other now. They didn’t condone or encourage the self destructive behavior, but they never tried to change the other. “It’s going to happen until it doesn’t,” Cheryl once said. So there was no judgement between them. Just hand holding, back stroking and running of cold water.

When the water ran clear and she turned off the tap, Cheryl magically procured bandages and placed them over the reopened wounds. The three of them stayed silent until Veronica clapped her hands and said, “I’m booking us for two nights at the Spa in Greendale this weekend. Betty before you protest I promise we’ll drop you off at Pop’s on Sunday by eleven so you can work your shift. Go home after school, pack a bag, and get your asses to the Pembrooke by 5:30pm. We leave at 6:00.”

She started towards the door but turned back around to squeeze them both and kiss Betty on the cheek.

“It’s all going to be okay, mi amor. We’ve got you.”

With that, Veronica unlocked the door and held it open for Betty and Cheryl. They walked out into the hall and surveyed the damage. Students still hadn’t made it into class, Chuck Clayton was yelling and Reggie Mantle stood there looking like he would rather be asking Wetherbee to Homecoming.

Betty waved as she headed towards the chemistry class that she shared with Archie. Thankfully, they weren’t partners. Betty didn’t have a partner at all due to both the level at which she was studying, and the odd number of students in the class.

_Maybe I’ll get lucky and Joaquin or Fangs will be in this class and I’ll get to ask them questions about Beanie Boy. Or I could ask any Southsider actually. All I need is someone who might now “The Dark Haired Guy In The Crown Shaped Beanie?” I refer to him as Beanie Boy and he plagues not only my dreams, but also every waking second of every single day. You don’t know him? Huh. No okay, that’s fine. Can you point me to the nearest bridge so I can throw myself off it?_

She sighed and opened her book, trying to understanding the equations on the page. But after twenty minutes of trying all coherent thought was once again interrupted by Beanie Boy and his perfect blue eyes.

* * *

Jughead was living in the after.

He took a deep breath as he walked out of his apartment at the back of the Wyrm. He had barely gotten out of his door when Toni bounced over to him. She was five feet of solid energy and pink hair. Jughead had known her his entire life, but only started getting to know her when he began running with the Serpents. He came on to her once at a party and she very respectively rejected him says, “I like something else on another gender that starts with the letter P.” After the redness had all but disappeared from Jughead’s face, they began to talk. She was a year older than him, and planned to get her GED so she could do online photography classes. She was his truest confidant. He knew that he could tell her about Betty, but he wanted to keep her his secret for as long as he could.

“Where ya going, Boss Man?” Toni asked.

“Does it matter?” He questioned. _I’m actually going to go stalk this person that I think is an actual fucking witch because of the way she is making me feel! No I don’t need help, but thank you for asking._

“No,” she said, “but I do need a general idea. You know, in case something happens and we either need you to identify a body or we need to identify yours.” She smirked at this. Toni wasn’t one to sugar coat anything, and she treated Jughead like an actual human being, not someone only to take orders from.

“I’m taking the Jeep for a drop and going for a drive,” he sighed. _Good going Jug, that wasn’t even a lie! Keep this up and you’ll be an honest man by sunrise._ “I’ll text you and only you if something goes wrong.” He started walking towards the door before he turned and said, “Make sure no one calls me unless it’s an absolute emergency. Like bleeding out, Wyrm’s on fire, Sweet Pea settled down and found true love emergency, okay?”

“I fufkin hearf dat!” Sweet Pea exclaimed with a mouth full of something. Jughead saw him swallow quickly before saying, “and for the record, I could find true love if I wanted to. But the ladies just want that sweet, sweet Pea.” He winked at his own double entendre and went back to eating his food. Toni stood there with her eyes wide and her jaw dropped.

_Jesus fucking Christ, Sweet Pea. Really? Sweet, Sweet Pea? You might as well just walk around saying “my penis” as the punch line of all your pickups now._

“That was the worst that it has ever been! What the hell is going on with him?”

“We start at Riverdale tomorrow,” Jughead explained. “All bets are off when he walks in and realizes that Northside girls find his leather more scary than sexy.”

With that, he bumped her shoulder with his own and walked out. Then he froze in the middle of the parking lot.

_Is Betty going to find my leather jacket scary rather than sexy? Wait a second why do you even care if she finds you sexy or not? She doesn’t. She just spends time staring intensely at you while trying to steal your soul._

He walked over to his car, jumped in and distractedly over to Pop’s. He probably burned through at least three cigarettes on the ten minute ride over. It might have been more, because for the first time in his life, Jughead was driving the speed limit. 

Was he really going to do this? Go in while Betty was working, attempt to flirt with her and maybe tell her his name? Probably not the last thing. He wasn’t ready. As soon as she heard his last name she’d run screaming in the other direction. He was Jones after all, a name that instilled fear no matter which Jones one was talking about.

Fuck FP fucking Jones for doing that to him. It would be one thing if his dad had only been busted for the drugs _or_ the guns, but no. FP had to take money from the real killer, Clifford Blossom, and give a fake confession... Fuck him. It meant that when he was cleared of the murder charges he was found guilty for all sorts of other things that Jughead had no control over. It meant that his dad was hauled off to jail (again). It meant that FP fucking Jones, leader of the Southside Serpents, left the burden of running a gang to his sixteen year old son. Fuck him. It meant that Jughead was now responsible for things that he should have never been responsible for. It meant his dreams of doing anything in life were shattered. _Fuck him._

But that was in the before.

The after was different. In the after, Jughead could look a rival gang member in the eyes, release the safety on his gun and not feel the slightest hesitation to pull the trigger. In the after, Jughead could chain smoke more than a pack of cigarettes in a day and not feel it burn. In the after, Jughead could throw back shots like his father, only unlike his father he knew when to stop.

It was only because of the tiny voice in his head that somehow convinced him he might be able to get out if he stayed in school. He also stayed so that Sweet Pea and Fangs and Joaquin felt they had a reason to too, and whether they thought so or not, Jughead knew there was hope for them.

He couldn’t quite put into words his feelings about being transferred to Riverdale High. On the one hand, he was, what one might call, excited to actually be challenged in school. On the other, he was entirely too apprehensive about needing to defend himself from Northside prejudice to pay much attention to his flickering excitement.

Then there was Betty Cooper.

Betty Cooper went to Riverdale High. At first he wasn’t sure, but he looked her up on Instagram minutes after he broke away from Sweet Pea, Fangs and Joaquin on Thursday night. Her account was private so he couldn’t scroll through her page and create stories about her life and pretend that he was there. He could only see that her bio said “RHS • BVC” and stare at the tiny photo on the upper left hand screen of the page.

It wasn’t anything one might consider special. She was sitting on a rock with her knees tucked into her chest, looking down at whoever was taking the photo. Her hair was down and she was wearing a purple oversized sweater. To some people, she probably looked like any other blonde teenager.

To Jughead, she was radiant.

And because of Betty Cooper, Jughead found himself standing in the back of the Pop’s parking lot still chain smoking against his car. He couldn’t bring himself to walk up to the diner, let alone open the door and sit down at the counter. He even left his laptop at home so he wouldn’t be as tempted to sit in the back and write about how much he wanted to talk to her.

_Just go sit down and order a milkshake. She’s not going to deny you that. You can attempt small talk, or you can just stare at her again. Either way, you’re here, and there are enough people in the parking lot for her to be busy and not spend all of her time with you. Which wouldn’t be bad, but maybe it wouldn’t be good._

Taking one last drag, and stomping it out, he walked up to the door. He put on his _indifferent to everything and I have no feelings_ face and pushed it open.

Upon entering, he was assaulted with the smell of greasy burgers and fries, and the comfortable feeling of being home. He looked around and couldn’t find her anywhere, but right as he was about to bolt back out of the door, she found him. He could feel her eyes on his back and turned. She was standing frozen holding someone’s order. He broke their stare, ducking his head and moving to sit at the furthest seat at the counter.

She looked away from him and went to drop the food. When she came back, she stood in front of him, hands gripping the inside of the counter. She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t find the right words.

_You are the leader of the Southside fucking Serpents, Jughead Jones. Why are you so scared of saying something to this girl, huh? Just talk to her, it’s not that hard. Okay yeah, it is hard. But you can’t sit here and do nothing. Then she’ll know... But why is it so hard?_

“Hey Betty Cooper,” he said with a smirk. He watched her pause and calculate what she was going to say next. She smiled slightly and said,

“Hey Beanie Boy.”

“Beanie Boy?” He scoffed.

She blushed and replied, “well are you ready to tell me your name?”

He paused, really thinking about it. Was he ready?

“No,” he said looking down. “I’m not ready just yet.”

“But you will be?” She bit her lip as she asked.

_God damn it Betty Cooper. Are you intentionally torturing me? Don’t you know I can’t grab that lip from out of your mouth and put— woah. Freeze. She’s looking at you for an answer. Can you speak? Is there enough blood in your brain? No? Didn’t think so._

He only nodded his head yes.

“Then you’ll stay Beanie Boy.” She moved to grab him a menu. This time he knew that she knew he didn’t need it, but was grabbing it anyway, knowing that they would get to keep talking.

“How long have I been Beanie Boy?” Jughead asked.

She blushed and looked down, clearly embarrassed. And that’s when Jughead did something that could have either been the best or worst decision he ever made.

He reached up, and with two fingers, lifted her head and met her eyes.

“How long?”

“Since the first time you walked in.” She exhaled quickly and looked at him curiously.

They remained like that for what seemed like years. It felt like they had been doing this forever, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The moment was interrupted by Jughead’s phone ringing and the bell sounding indicating that Betty needed to bring food to another table. Jughead nodded towards the door and walked out.

Pressing talk he growled, “Sweet Pea someone better bleeding out or you better be at the courthouse and need a witness to your shotgun wedding. Either way, this is not the time to call.”

“Damn, Boss Man! I was calling because Malachi heard we were moving over to RHS. He means to stake claim on dealing there before we start. He doesn’t know we’re in there as of tomorrow, so I think we’re fine. Still wanted to update you though.”

“Sweet Pea. What about “only call Jughead if it is an emergency” did you not understand. _This_ is not an emergency. _This_ is just a mild inconvenience that we can keep an eye on. Is there anything else?”

“Yeah,” Sweet Pea said quietly, his voice dropping an octave, “your dad called. He finally got phone privileges. He wants to talk to you.”

_Of course he does, that sneaky fucking bastard. Fuck him._

“Well what did you tell him I was doing?” Jughead asked, pinching his nose between his forefinger and thumb.

“I told him you were out on a drop, and that you’d would call him tomorrow during hours. But I think we’ll be at school then.”

“Okay,” Jughead exhaled. “Thanks, I’ll see you when I get back to the Wyrm. And Pea? Nothing you just told me was a fucking emergency.”

Ignoring him Pea said, “where are you anyway?”

“I did the drop and went for a drive.”

“Oh sweet,” Pea said with an excited voice, “where at, Fangs and I can come by.”

“It’s way out, by the time you got here I’d be leaving anyway. I’ll catch you at the Wyrm later.”

“But—” was all that he heard from Sweet Pea before ending the call and walking back into Pop’s.

She wasn’t behind the counter but saw her walking his direction. He sat back down and waited for her to come over. When she reached him, she laid her palms flat on the counter, closer to him than before, but not as close as Jughead wanted her to be.

“So, how are you today, Betty Cooper?” He asked slyly. He felt disgusted that he felt the need to give off a feeling of fuck boi-ery and indifference when really he was genuinely interested and never wanted her to stop talking.

She sighed, “is that all you’ve got for me, Beanie Boy?”

“Am I supposed to say something else?”

“Your name would be nice. I’m really tired of calling you Beanie Boy. I don’t think it’s very becoming of you.”

_Please drop the name thing Betty Cooper. As soon as you know this is over and I don’t know what I’ll do when it ends..._

“I beg to disagree, Betty Cooper. I think it’s even better than my name. Which is even better than my real name.”

“How many names do you have?” She exclaimed.

“Three. Well four now that we’ve established that Beanie Boy is the best of them all.”

“Okay well why do you call my by my full name? You always say “Betty Cooper.” I think it’s unfair that you know my _whole_ name and I don’t know yours,” she said with some anger.

“Because your full name is beautiful, and I will never get tired of saying it,” he said with a note of finality usually reserved for a disobeying Serpent. 

If she was effected by his sentiment, she didn’t show it. “Hmm,” she replied. “Well okay Beanie Boy who actually has three other names that he _still won’t tell me,_ what would you like today?

After a few moments of speculation he said, “I’ll take whatever you usually order.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“It’s no double chocolate shake with onion rings and a double burger with all the fixings.” She blushed when she realized that she read back his order from the other day. Jughead resisted the urge to touch her face and just said,

“I’m broadening my culinary horizons, Betty Cooper.”

“Well alright then,” she said, and walked over to the kitchen and said to Pop, “can you make me my regular order please?”

“Of course, Betty,” he replied. “Are you taking a break already?”

“No,” Betty said with a laugh. “Someone else wants to try it.”

She then moved to tend to another table, and Jughead was able to drink her in from his seat. To anyone who hadn’t spent months studying her from a far, she looked like the happiest person alive. She cared for people so intensely that it bordered on obsessive. But to Jughead, he could see the pain behind her eyes, the mask she put on held only in place by the need to support others.

He knew that look _and_ that feeling. It was why when he came of age he jumped at the chance to take over for his father. It meant he didn’t have to live in an idle mind for very long. He took to dealing with his own demons by feeling so deeply for the other Serpents; especially the younger members. He felt that if he didn’t help them handle their own demons that he’d be consumed by his own.

Betty seemed to do the same. Only instead of pretending to not care, she cared to an extreme. He liked that about her. He liked a lot about her. He liked maybe too much in general.

“One grilled cheese, a side of fries and a Strawberry milkshake with extra whip,” she said cheerfully, breaking him out of his reverie.

“ _That’s your regular order?!_ he asked shocked.

“Yes,” she said assertively. “And since you were hell bent on what was it, _broadening your culinary horizons,_ you have to eat all of it. Even if you want a burger.”

“Betty Cooper!” he said angrily, but it wasn’t real, only a joke. _And_ maybe some admiration for her stubbornness.

“Beanie Boy,” she said in the same tone.

“Okay fine. I’ll eat, _and drink_ everything.”

She gave him a smile that could break the wall of ice around his heart, and walked to the back of the diner. Begrudgingly he took a bite of the grilled cheese and was pleasantly surprised.

He finished half and then dug into his fries, eyeing the pink drink warily. He did not like strawberry shakes. At all. They were far too sweet and far too girly for his liking. But if Betty Cooper wanted him to drink it, and maybe contribute some real happiness to her day, he’d choke down millions.

She was walking back over to him when his phone rang again. He quickly declined the call but then another came through. And then another. And then a text that just read:

 **Toni Topaz:** _911\. Officially._

When she was standing in front of him when he said “Betty I need the check, please.” He was almost begging, and the look in her eyes showed that she knew it. She punched the bill into the register at lightening speed, ripped of the receipt, and tucked it under his plate.

They stared at each other for one last moment before she walked away. He wasn’t that guy who loved to watch her go. He _really_ hated it. He wanted her to stay. He wanted to tell her his name and talk about their demons.

_She is literally turning you into a sap. The sappiest sap of all saps. If any of the Serpents could here your inner Betty Cooper monologue they’d attempt to recall your position as leader._

He threw forty dollars on the bill and started to take off.

But then he pulled a Sweet Pea.

Running back over to the check he grabbed a pen and wrote: “Drink the milkshake and the rest is for you. See you tomorrow, Betty Cooper.”

 _Let her try to figure out what that means,_ he thought. Pushing the door open he looked back into the diner. His eyes met Hera for one last moment before he turned around and walked out into the lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So they talked. He still didn’t tell her his name but he’s getting there. And next chapter they do start school together which is going to be an interesting dynamic between RHS and SHS characters. 
> 
> I’ve already started writing it and I already love it and I’ll love all of you for commenting & leaving kudos.
> 
> Until next Tuesday
> 
> Xx
> 
> BB


	3. Over Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Beanie Boy,” she said back, fighting that same smile. He wanted to reach for her, hold her and try to explain.
> 
> “Beanie Boy!?” Sweet Pea laughed loudly. “What the hell kind of nick—“
> 
> “Shut up, Sweet Pea,” they both snapped.
> 
> Fangs’ jaw dropped, Joaquin raised his eyebrows and Toni smirked. Everyone else in the hallway who was openly staring at them stood frozen and silent. Jughead looked at Betty and shook his head, daring her to say something to back up her outburst.
> 
> However, what she said next made him want to throw Sweet Pea through a wall.
> 
> “Sweets, I already know you like it rough in the bedroom. Why is the hallway any different?” She then turned to Jughead, lowered her voice and asked, “are you ready yet?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the chapter where Beanie Boy & his Serpents finally get to Riverdale and Betty tries not to lose her shit. Also Archie is a dick and I love writing Cheryl.
> 
> As always, thank you for all of your love and support of this story and I can’t wait to hear what you think!
> 
> Disclaimer: None of these characters are mine, I just like writing about them. Also this is unbeta’d, so all mistakes are mine.

_Dang!— Mac Miller (feat. Anderson .Paak)_

**(JPOV)**

_”Jones,” Malachi spit out. His mouth was bloody and one eye was swollen shut. “I heard you found a pretty little thing on the Northside. Wonder if she’s just into snakes or if she’d give it up to any gang member? Me and my guys would love to take a stab at her, in more ways than one.” His grin was evil and Jughead was trying not to show the fear and pain rolling through his body._

_He remained indifferent and nodded his head towards Sweet Pea, who delivered a swift punch to Malachai’s gut. Jughead looked down at him and said nothing._

_”Don’t worry Jones, I promise to give you a courtesy call when we tie her up. Maybe you can even come and watch.”_

Jughead jolted up and dry heaved until he was hyperventilating. When he finally got himself to calm down and drink some water he looked at the time.

**4:47am**

_It was just a dream Jughead. Betty’s still in her bed on the Northside. She’s fine. No one has taken her._

It was the early morning before the first day at Riverdale High School, and Jughead knew that the day he’d been avoiding was finally upon him. He was going to have to tell her his name now. Maybe he could catch her before a class. Maybe he could just not go.

Realizing that trying to fall asleep was completely out of the question, he stood up and walked into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee so he could make it through the day. From what he knew about Betty, he knew she lived on Elm St. That it was probably a big white house with a white picket fence. And that she was honestly and truly most likely hopefully safe.

He knew that Malachi had no idea where she lived or that she even existed.

He knew that what he had just vividly seen was only a dream and that there was no way he was going to do what he was about to.

He decided to do it anyway.

Getting off the stool in the kitchen and walked to his room. Throwing on a pair of black sweatpants and a long-sleeve Henley shirt he got ready to leave. He contemplated putting on his Serpent jacket but decided against it. Instead he grabbed a black hoodie from the hook by the door and placed his beanie on his head.

When he put it on, he could hear her saying “Beanie Boy” in that tone that made him want to come up with more reasons for her to say his name. He wondered if she’d still call him that if she found out his real name?

It was about 5:15am when he started to drive over to the Northside. With the way he was driving that morning, he got there in nine minutes when it usually took fifteen.

He cut the engine and the lights at the top of the street. He didn’t know what he was looking for. Maybe a Ghoulie lurking by a house? Or something on fire. Or anything really that could harm her.

When he developed these overwhelming feelings to keep her safe, he didn’t know. When he saw the indents on her palms and saw the pain behind her eyes something clicked. He wanted to protect her with the same intensity that he would protect his fellow Serpents, and it made Jughead feel something he hadn’t felt in years: fear.

So he was absolutely shocked when he saw Betty Cooper running in his direction in a pair of the shortest shorts he’d ever seen, a sports bra, and an unzipped workout jacket.

_You have got to be kidding me. Of course she runs every morning. You don’t look like that unless you do. And why are you basically naked, Betty Cooper? Do you know what you’re doing to me? No! You’re just out here at 5:56am running. Naked. You might as well be naked, Betty Cooper. But wait why this early in the morning?_

He sunk low in the drivers seat and had to tell his body to _shut the fuck up it’s already bad enough that you’re here watching her, you don’t need to be having_ these _feelings towards her at this very moment! Even if she is basically naked!_

He had to duck even further down as she jogged past his car. He was somewhat inconspicuously parked, but not enough. If she had ever seen him pull in or out of the Pop’s parking lot, he was toast. But she ran past without looking so much in his direction and he was relieved.

She circled back up the street towards what he soon realized was her house, and it wasn’t until he saw the door close and a light turn on that he started his car. He was lucky that it was still dark, but not dark enough to see without lights so he didn’t turn them on as he started to drive.

He drove back to his apartment and trudged up the stairs. Now that he knew she was safe, exhaustion took over him. It was 6:22 and he needed to get ready and call a Serpents meeting to discuss how school was going to go. Then an inner-circle meeting to make sure that his smaller crew knew what to look out for.

* * *

**(BPOV)**

She saw his Jeep parked at the end of her street.

Should she have been freaked out by it? Yes But was she? No. She had had a bad dream that night at started running earlier than usual. She couldn’t remember it very clearly, but she struggled against her eyelids, hoping to see what she was surrounded by and how to get out.

Jolting awake and realizing it was just before five, she through on shorts and a sports bra. Tossing a workout jacket over it she tiptoed out of the house and started to run.

It was close to six when she saw him. His Jeep was parked in front of a driveway that Betty passed each morning. She knew it was his immediately.

Betty looked forward and kept running. She didn’t want to ask him why he was there and how he found her street. Part of her was annoyed, but the other, larger part of her that she didn’t want to acknowledge, was flattered. He was there, and though she didn’t want to admit it, it made her feel safer, especially with the dream from that night.

When she walked back up to her house, she chanced a glance at the Jeep again. It was still there. She wished she had gone up and asked him his name then and there. In the quiet hours of dawn. Where the sun had yet to decide if it was coming out that day. But when she looked out her bedroom window, it was gone.

He was gone.

The sun had decided to come out that day, and the temperature was unseasonably warm for early October, so Betty decided to go off the rails a bit. Alice was gone for the week so she could actually dress herself without fear of the Alice Cooper “Stamp of Disapproval.”

She threw on a three-quarter sleeve black shirt and a pair of white overalls on top. She cuffed the bottoms and wore a pair of black sneakers Veronica had bought her last Christmas. She looked at her hair which was still too wet to wear down and it was way too late for her to blow-dry it. She threw it into a bun, allowed herself to put on a generous amount of mascara and even a bit of eyeshadow. Veronica would be happy. Cheryl would raise an approving eyebrow.

Betty tried to convince herself that the only reason she was wearing _this_ specific outfit was because Alice wasn’t there and it was warm outside. But in reality she knew that she put on something out of the box in hopes that Beanie Boy walked into school. She wanted him to see her outside of her Pop’s uniform. She wanted to feel noticeable.

The realization that Alice wasn’t there meant two things: Betty could eat _whatever_ she wanted, and she could drive herself to school. Alice flew out late Sunday night. She asked Betty to drive her after her shift, and told her she could use it as long as she filled the tank before she got back.

It was the first time Betty had wanted to embrace her mother in over a year. She finally had a slice of freedom. She could drive herself to work and school, _and she didn’t have to walk in with Archie._

Betty sent Archie a quick text saying not to wait up. She ignored his text back and set out to make herself a real breakfast. There were both eggs and bacon in the fridge, and she almost cried. Cooking them both she sent a text to Cheryl and Veronica to show she was eating and let them know Alice was out of town so she’d be driving herself in all week.

When her food was ready, she ate slowly and savored every bite. She had the week to indulge herself in greasy foods and sugary snacks. She made a mental note to pick up ice cream on her way home from Pop’s that night while cleaning up her dishes. Grabbing her bag from the hall, lifting the keys from the hook and opening up the door, she stepped out into the warm.

She played some Spotify radio playlist and rolled the window down a bit. She decided to take Hal’s truck. It had been sitting untouched in their garage for six months. Betty wasn’t allowed to drive it, even though it just sat there gather dust. Her mother pretended it wasn’t there. Every time Betty tried to ask about it, she’d be shut down. So with Alice gone for the week, she put it in reverse and drove to school.

For maybe five minutes she forgot about the Southside students. But she quickly remembered when there weren’t any parking spots available. Betty stood on the ledge of the truck and peered over the roof. She couldn’t see a black Jeep anywhere. After trying (and failing) to swallow her disappointment she grabbed her bag off of the passenger seat and walked in.

She found Cheryl and Veronica standing against her locker, and before they could say anything to her she burst out, “oh my god I think it’s finally time to say something to Archie!”

They were silent before breaking out in a series of “woooo!!’s” and “It’s about god damn time!”

Betty was laughing with them when Veronica stopped dancing and asked, “was there anything specific that made you decide to finally peel away from our favorite well-meaning ginger asshole?”

“Well,” Betty started. But she didn’t get a chance to finish. The hallway went quiet except for a few whispers and hushed voices. Cheryl’s mouth opened a bit and Veronica crossed her arms and smirked. Betty was about to ask them what they were looking at when she turned around.

Standing at the entrance of the school we’re the fifty or so Southside students who were transferring that day. She saw Sweet Pea and Joaquin and Fangs standing near the front. They all smirked the same kind of smirk when they saw her. She smiled back but kept her eyes moving.

She didn’t see him.

Obviously he wasn’t a high school student. He looked too old to still be in high school. Sweet Pea she could have guessed with the way he acted that night at the diner. But she didn’t see him. She continued to scan the crowed with a scrutinizing gaze when they began walking into the hallway. They seemed pretty unassuming for now, so the hallway’s chatter got a little louder and people paid a little less attention to them.

That’s when she saw him.

He was standing to the right of Sweet Pea. He didn’t see her yet, but she could tell he was looking for her too, because when his eyes did finally find hers he looked relieved. They held each other’s stares and forgot that they weren’t at Pop’s where’d they been able to freely stare at each other without disturbance.

She didn’t remember it, but she walked over to him. She didn’t remember the hallway going quiet again. She didn’t remember Sweet Pea holding back a few of the Southsiders who wanted to go and defend Beanie Boy from the bold blonde girl from the Northside.

Instead of addressing him, she turned to Fangs.

“How long?” She asked. He looked at her for a moment before slightly blushing at the realization of her question.

“Since we left on Thursday. Sweet Pea got a text,” he replied.

“Hmm,” she said. She finally turned to Beanie Boy. He was there. In her school. Looking like he had a plan to stay.

They stared at each other, forgetting everything around them then she inched towards him and froze.

* * *

**(JPOV)**

_Is she going to hit me? That would be really bad. Then I would have to get Sweet Pea and Fangs to hold back 50 Southsiders and Serpents and I can’t afford to start a fight over the beautiful Betty Cooper before 8:30am._

“Betty Cooper,” he said with a smile.

_Thank god, she smiled back. Not a big smile, but a smile that showed that she wanted to smile more. I could get used to this. Seeing her every morning. Seeing her smile at me. Seeing her in an environment outside of Pop’s. The whole school is looking at us, especially that red head boy in the back who looks like he just heard he’s about to have to perform his own lobotomy._

“Beanie Boy,” she said back, fighting that same smile. He wanted to reach for her, hold her and try to explain.

“Beanie Boy!?” Sweet Pea laughed loudly. “What the hell kind of nick—“

“Shut up, Sweet Pea,” they both snapped.

Fangs’ jaw dropped, Joaquin raised his eyebrows and Toni smirked. Everyone else in the hallway who was openly staring at them stood frozen and silent. Jughead looked at Betty and shook his head, daring her to say something to back up her outburst.

However, what she said next made him want to throw Sweet Pea through a wall.

“Sweets, I already know you like it rough in the bedroom. Why is the hallway any different?” She then turned to Jughead, lowered her voice and asked, “are you ready yet?”

The question aimed at him was also dare; a statement. It was inevitable now, that she’d know his name. That she’d know his story. But he’d do everything in his power to tell her first, and tell her privately.

He didn’t get a chance to respond when all of a sudden she was no longer in his line of site. For an imperceptible second he panicked that she had been taken. Granted, she had, but not from a rival gang member like he had been terrified about since this morning, but by an overzealous Sweet Pea.

He threw her into a bear hug, picking her up and spinning her around. She laughed and Jughead felt his heart squeeze. He wanted to be someone who brought joy and laughter into her life.

“Oh Coop!” He yelled, “I am going to love getting to see you every day.”

When Sweet Pea put her down, Toni quickly moved in and introduced herself before Jughead could grab her back.

“Hi! I’m Toni. You’re absolutely stunning and I like looking at your friend,” she said, pointing to the red-haired girl in the corner who was twirling her hair around one finger.

Betty looked behind her to see who she was looking at. Turning back to Toni she stage whispered, “I can guarantee you an introduction, and that she’ll like you back.”

Toni grinned evilly and looked at Jughead saying, “This one’s fun.” She winked and Jughead knew what it meant

_Don’t mess this up, Jones._

_I’m trying, Toni. I just didn’t expect to see her in the hallway demanding an explanation or talking about Sweet Pea liking it rough!_

Toni nodded her head towards Sweet Pea, Fangs and Joaquin. “I’m gonna take them to the office and get all of our shit. Text you the info in a little.” Then she turned to Betty and flirtatiously said “Bye, Betty,” she walking away with the boys and waiving her fingers at her.

Betty waved back and smiled at Joaquin and Fangs as they patted her shoulder. She blew Sweet Pea a mocking kiss and turned to Jughead.

The rest of the Southside kids and Serpents followed Toni down the hall. Sweet Pea turned on his “I beg you to try and fuck with my face” and Toni moved through it all like Harley Quinn skipping over to Mister J.

He turned back to Betty. She was beautiful. And she was wearing overalls that had a few patches of what he knew to be motor oil scattered throughout. He made a mental note to ask her about that later.

“So, Beanie Boy. Is today I get to stop calling you that?”

“Oh Betty Cooper, you know it’s the favorite of my four names,” he sighed. Now she really looked like she may hit him. “And no, I’m not ready, but it is inevitable.” He grabbed her hand and said, “I promise. End of day today.” He didn’t know when he got the balls to touch her, but he wasn’t going to stop now.

She looked down at their hands but made no move to separate. “Do you promise me that I will be the first to know? That you won’t introduce yourself and I’ll have to hear it through the halls?”

“That’s a loaded promise Betty Cooper. But if I get sent to the principle’s office because I won’t say my name, _and_ it will make you happy, I’ll do it.”

“You still didn’t promise.”

“Betty Cooper,” he said, raising her hand, “I promise to find you at the end of the day and tell you my name.”

She examined his face for a few moments before saying, “you can meet me in the Blue and Gold office last period. No one will be there. Or you can meet me at Pop’s. My shift starts at four. Ends at like 10ish”

“I’ll find you,” he said squeezing her hand. “I promise. But I have to go find Toni and the boys and get my shit together. She just texted me.” He flashed her his phone so she knew he really had a reason to leave and wasn’t just making up an excuse.

The late bell sounded above them and they looked up.

“Later,” she said with the same assertive tone she’d used on him yesterday at the diner. As she begun to pull her hand away, Jughead stopped her. He lifted her hand to his lips and made eye contact with her as he gently kissed her knuckles.

“Until then, Betty Cooper.” When he moved past her he realized that a good number of students were still looking at them. He laughed quietly and pushed through them while turning on his, “please ask me about Betty Cooper I’d love to knock you out” face. He nodded his head at the red-head Toni was staring at and the raven haired girl next to her.

_Betty’s friends, probably. Should attempt be nice to them._

He passed the ginger boy who was glaring daggers at him. Jughead met his eyes with an angry vengeance and the boy quickly looked away.

He walked to where Toni told him to go but immediately stopped in the middle of the hall. Sweet Pea’s face was full of worry and Fangs was shifting from foot to foot, something that he did when he was anxious.

“What,” Jughead demanded.

“Tall Boy just called. Malachi is at the Wyrm. He already got word that we were here,” Joaquin said quietly.

“Fuck!” Jughead yelled, slamming a locker. “We have to leave. Like now. I can’t have him attempting to get in here and start selling shit. If anyone’s going to be dealing it’s us. And it’s low grade weed and nothing more. Everyone but inner-circle needs to stay here and not cause a scene at all. I need no trouble and absolutely no reason to get kicked out and have Malachi coming in and dealing hard shit to fourteen year olds.”

As everyone started to scatter, Jughead said to Fangs and Sweet Pea, “go to student records and get my Betty Cooper’s cellphone number. You have like fifteen minutes before we roll out.”

They nodded their heads and moved in the opposite direction. Toni looked at him with a funny expression and he tried not do anything about it. But anger and panic got the best of him.

“What!” He snapped.

“You said _my_ Betty Cooper’s number,” she smirked.

“No I didn’t,” Jughead said unconvincingly. Had he? Did he mean it? No. It was a slip. A panicked and protective slip that wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t been convinced that she would be taken at any moment.

_Fucking shit, Malachi. First you ruin my morning and now you ruin my day?_

About 10 minutes later Fangs and Sweet Pea came back. “We got it, Boss Man,” Fangs said quietly as they walked back up to him.

“Thanks,” Jughead muttered. He punched the number into his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. He needed to get this done quickly. He knew he wasn’t going to make it back by the end of the day so he needed to handle this quickly enough that he could get to Betty by the end of her shift at Pop’s.

Jughead looked at his best friends as they waited for him to tell them what was happening next. First, however, he’d have to figure that out for himself.

“Okay,” he exhaled. “Let’s go.”

* * *

**(BPOV)**

She couldn’t move. She told Sweet Pea to shut up in the middle of the hallway. Then she made a comment about their fake sexual relationship. Then he picked her up. Like actually picked her up and spun her around hugged her. Then a small girl with pink hair tried to hit on Cheryl through her. Then without any warning it was just her and Beanie Boy. Well, her and Beanie Boy and the whole hallway. And he still wasn’t ready, but he was finally going to tell her anyway. And then... oh god and then, his lips had been on her hand. It was quite possibly the hottest moment of her life because his lips were on her hand and he was staring into her soul and the hallway of judgmental teenagers were gone.

But then he was gone. 

She didn’t even feel Cheryl and Veronica come up behind her. She was still too busy reliving the last five minutes of her life. But she was rudely interrupted by the shrill voice of Cheryl Blossom.

“Elizabeth Cooper if you don’t ditch History class and explain how you know tall, dark, and handsome and short, pink, and sexy I will shave your fucking head!”

“I just met Toni today,” she muttered.

“THAT IS SO NOT THE FUCKING POINT!” Cheryl screamed.

“Oh my god, okay. Let’s go. Blue and Gold.”

Betty led an angry Cheryl and stunned Veronica through the halls. People were still hanging around their lockers and Betty could feel them staring at her but she didn’t care because Beanie Boy was going to tell her his name today _and_ had put his lips on her hand so her whole body felt like an exposed nerve. Betty kept her head forward and moved with a purpose towards the Blue and Gold. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Archie looking at her. No, glaring at her. For half a second she felt sorry about the hallway display, but then remembered how happy she was standing with the Southsiders in the hallway and a real smile broke across her face. 

She pushed open the door to the Blue and Gold and locked it behind them. There was a musty couch in the back corner and Betty dragged the girls over to it and plopped down. As soon as she sat down the reality of the situation hit her. Then it was her turn to go into shock.

“You need to start from the very beginning. Do not leave out a single detail,” Cheryl said quietly. 

“Betty what the hell is going on?” Veronica questioned. “Do you have a thing with that tall guy? Or that short guy? I’m so confused.”

“This is why she is starting from the very beginning, because she obviously does and we need to know what the HELL IS GOING ON.”

_How do I tell them that I think I have feelings for someone who has no name? Maybe I can hold off telling them until the very last second..._

_”The beginning, Elizabeth,”_ Cheryl said loudly.

“Oh my god please stop yelling,” Betty said massaging her temples.

Cheryl just continued to glare.

“Okay,” she started. “A few weeks ago, towards the end of August, Beanie Boy—“

_Shit. Please don’t have caught that._

“Wait a second, why do you keep calling him Beanie Boy?” Veronica asked.

_Fuck._

“Because I don’t know his name,” Betty whispered.

“You don’t know his name.” Veronica repeated back.

“Yeah,” Betty said.

 _“Okay,”_ Cheryl stressed. _“Keep going.”_

“So he would always come in the middle of the night. There was usually another waitress on those nights so I hadn’t really waited on him. But I watched him write, and I think he watched me work. It was kind of a weird thing that I didn’t know developed until I talked to him last Thursday night. He was there with the really tall one with the neck tattoo, the one with the long hair and the short guy. When I was bringing over their drinks, I tripped and the tall one, Sweet Pea, caught me, but I kind of fell into his lap. That’s why I made the comment about ‘liking it rough.’ So that’s how I know them. Toni, the one with the pink hair who liked looking at Cheryl, I just met her today. She is very nice and it’s possible she will be developing a major crush soon.

“The name Beanie Boy came about because I have never seen him without that beanie, and he won’t tell me his name. Every time I’ve asked he says he isn’t ready. But I am going to find out tonight. Or today. Whenever he gets a second to find me. But we spend a lot of time staring at each other. Like a lot. It is too intense and sometimes I feel like I am on fire but there is nothing I can do about it because I never want it to end and he hasn’t told me his name so I’m stuck staring until he’s ready. Or not ready. Just until it’s inevitable.”

She exhaled intensely and then looked at Cheryl and Veronica. Cheryl’s jaw was dropped and Veronica was kind of spaced out. Betty was scared of their reactions. It was Veronica who shocked.

“What the fuck kind of name is Sweet Pea?” Cheryl asked amused.

“ _That’s_ what you got out of all of this?”

“No I got all of it and I have a million questions but that’s the only one I can wrap my brain around,” she said with a sharp laugh.

“Are you mad?” Betty asked.

“No of course not. I mean I’m annoyed you’ve been keeping hot Southsiders from us and been having a secret love affair with this ‘Beanie Boy’ for two months but we’re not mad.”

“I mean what I got out of this is that Sweet Pea is definitely delicious and I am grateful you landed in his lap,” Veronica said definitively. 

Betty and Cheryl were silent as they stared at Veronica. Then they all burst out laughing. They didn’t stop until Cheryl choked out,

“Okay, stop, stop, stop! Betty you said end of August... that’s when you stopped crushing on Archie...”

“Yeah,” Betty laughed. “The first time I looked at that beanie wearing asshole I stopped thinking about Archie.” That calmed both of them down a bit.

“Woah,” they said.

“Yep,” Betty said popping the ‘p.’ “So now I need to find Archie and talk to him before shit hits the fan. Did he see me talking to Beanie Boy?”

“Betty. Everyone saw. You told a Southside Serpent to shut up in front of a hallway full of people, then made a sex joke. _Then_ he picked you up and spun you. Then you interacted with and talked to _three_ more Southsiders. And that was all before a very sexy beanie wearing boy kissed your hand in the hallway. Everyone saw. Especially Archie. I think he even turned the color of his hair,” Cheryl explained.

“So I should probably go talk to him before the end of the day,” Betty said, looking at her hands. 

They sat silently for a few more minutes. Betty couldn’t figure out what to do. On the one hand, she did sort of like the attention she got from Archie each morning and the sense of security that he gave her. On the other hand, Beanie Boy was now at Riverdale, and she now more than ever couldn’t pretend to have feelings for Archie.

They left the Blue and Gold in time for second period. She floated through the rest of the day, looking around corners for Beanie Boy. She knew it was a long shot that she’d see him, but she hoped. When it got to the second to last period bell, she made her way back to the Blue and Gold. She stopped short when she saw who was sitting on the couch.

It wasn’t Beanie Boy.

“Hi, Arch!” Betty said cheerily. She tried to keep her voice light and not let him on to the fact that he was actually the last person she wanted to see. 

“Hey,” he said quietly, “we should talk.”

“What about?” Betty questioned. She knew what about, but she figured if she feigned ignorance it might go a bit better.

“About you and the Southsiders this morning. Particularly you and the tall one and you and the one with the hat.”

_I knew telling Sweet Pea to shut up was a mistake._

“It’s a beanie,” Betty mumbled. 

_Not the time Elizabeth._

“But you’re right, it doesn’t matter what it’s called. I met them all at Pop’s the other night when I was working a dinner shift. I tripped and fell and Sweet Pea, the one I told to shut up, caught me. We now I guess have a running joke about ‘liking it rough’ because of something he said.”

Archie looked completely gobsmacked and Betty took it as an opportunity to bring up Beanie Boy.

“The thing with the guy in the beanie, well... we also just met on Thursday too, but he visited me yesterday at Pop’s and we sort of started talking.”

She wasn’t trying to sugar-coat anything for him, but she also wasn’t trying to tell him anything about her relationship with Beanie Boy, if that’s even what you could call it.

It’s at that moment that Archie started to freak out.

“Whatever Betty! It doesn’t matter how you know them! You still walked up to a group of known criminals and even _flirted_ with of them, and basically got eye-fucked by the other! What the hell, Betty?”

She wasn’t all that shocked by his outburst, she had expected it really. “Are you actually going to listen to my side of the story or are you just going to keep yelling?”

“I heard your side. It’s bullshit. They’re snakes and criminals and they’re polluting our school and they’ve corrupted you!” He screamed.

Now Betty was yelling, “how do you know they’re criminals?”

“Because, Betty, they were wearing jackets that had Serpents on them! God, why are you so naive?”

Betty stood there still and horrified. Who the fuck was Archie to get mad at her about who she was flirting with, much less make generalized accusations about people he’d never even spoke to. But that wasn’t even what she was most mad about.

“Me? Naive!? You’re the one who paraded around a town full of girls for two years, completely oblivious to my feelings for you! Then once I stopped liking you, you glommed onto me and enjoyed what you thought to be a chase! I will be the first to admit to enjoying the attention, but I should have confronted you after what happened this summer, but I didn’t. So I’m sorry. And I even may have stood in the hallway and told a Southsider that I know he “likes it rough” and even befriended a few Southsiders but I am anything but naive! You, Archibald Andrews, are the fucking naive one.” She was screaming by the end, and a few traitor tears slipped out and she wiped them away. 

“Betty I didn’t—” 

“Just stop, Archie, okay? Just don’t. I don’t need to hear it and I don’t need you to walk me in any more either. In fact, it’s best we just don’t talk for a while.”

He started to walk over to her and she backed up until she was next to the door. When she opened it for him, he didn’t immediately walk through, so she looked up and glared at him.

After she shut the door, she sunk to the ground and cried. When she had previously thought of confronting Archie, it had never gone down in that way. Archie wasn’t an asshole, and Betty knew he would be fine. There were hundreds of girls who wanted to be with him and Betty assumed that when she told him she didn’t like him that he’d just shrug it off and they’d remain friends.

She was not expecting to be called naive and have her recent life decisions thrown in her face. She also was not expecting to feel so defensive of Beanie Boy and his friends.

She was still throwing her own personal pity party on the floor when her phone buzzed.

 **Unknown Number— 1:29pm:** _I had to run, I’m not avoiding you, Betty Cooper_

 _There is no way in hell he has my number because I didn’t give it to him. But he_ is _sneaky enough to get it from someone or somewhere else. And no one calls me Betty Cooper like that except for him._

 **Betty— 1:32pm:** _How did you even get my number, Beanie Boy?_

 **Beanie Boy— 1:32pm:** _How did you know it was me?_

 **Betty— 1:33pm:** _I asked you first_

 **Beanie Boy— 1:39pm:** _What time is your shift over?_

 **Betty— 1:41pm:** _How did you get this number?_

_Stop responding so fast! Make him wait! You seem desperate, Elizabeth._

**Beanie Boy— 1:56pm:** _What time, Betty Cooper?_

 **Betty— 2:02pm:** _You obviously don’t know how to negotiate. And you obviously don’t remember_

 **Beanie Boy— 2:03pm:** _You’re obviously failing to see that this isn’t a negotiation..._

 **Betty— 2:05pm:** _Fine. 10_

 **Betty— 2:13pm:** _But if you come in I’m not speaking to you until you tell me how you got my number_

_You double texted? Really?_

**Beanie Boy— 2:28pm:** _You’re not worried about me telling you my name?_

 **Betty— 2:34pm:** _I trust you_

Did she?

 **Beanie Boy— 2:35pm:** _Maybe you shouldn’t_

 **Beanie Boy— 2:42pm:** _You’re done at 10?_

 **Beanie Boy— 2:55pm:** _Until then, Betty Cooper._

* * *

**(JPOV)**

It was 8:52 when he got there and there was a double chocolate shake on the far corner of the counter. He smiled like an idiot, but quickly wiped it off his face when he saw that she was coming his way. Though he got up the nerves to text her and to even kiss her hand, he didn’t yet have the courage to smile at her.

“As I live and breathe, Betty Cooper. You look lovely as always,” he said while sitting down.

She raised an eyebrow at him but he wasn’t ready to stop playing his little game just yet.

“Hmm, let’s see. Today I’ll have a double cheese burger, all the fixings, an order of fries and a strawberry milkshake,” he said, shocking her, “since you already did me the honor of making the double chocolate.”

She turned away without looking at him. He could tell she wanted to yell or do something to get back at him for his stupid games, but she didn’t. She was stubborn. He loved it.

She didn’t come back over until his food was ready. When she placed it down, she gave him a stare that could light fires.

Jughead took a big sip of the strawberry milkshake to make a point. He held her gaze as he took a huge bite of his burger and licked his fingers. He watched as her eyes darkened and he kept that little oral fixation in the back of his mind for later use.

“Sweet Pea and Fangs went into the student records and pulled your file. Your cell was on there. I put your number in my phone and texted you when I was done with what I had to deal with.”

She seemed to consider this, weighing her response over and over before deciding on taking the strawberry milkshake and drinking it herself.

He smiled at her, an almost real smile.

“Is that an acceptable answer?”

“I guess it’s better than you harassing some Riverdale student into giving it to you,” she conceded.

“I would have done that if I felt it was necessary.”

“I know,” she smiled, sipping the shake. Jughead noticed that her tongue flicked out to catch a drop of strawberry ice cream that threatened to sneak down her chin.

He cataloged his own oral fixation for later, too.

“I promised to tell you my name tonight,” he said lowly. “But I can’t do it in Pop’s. Can I follow you home tonight?”

“Oh,” she said, “you mean you don’t know where I live already?”

_Fucking Christ. Not right now, Betty Cooper._

“I don—“ he started.

“Save the lies, Beanie Boy. I saw you this morning. No one on Elm St. owns a black Jeep. And I know your car. _And_ I saw you.”

 _Fuck,_ he thought, “are you mad?”

“Would I have made you a milkshake when I saw you pull in if I was mad?”

“I guess not,” he said. “So okay, can I drive home either in front or behind you tonight?” His dick twitched a bit at the thought of being behind her later tonight.

_Get control of yourself, Jones._

“I have to go to the grocery store to get ice cream after. The only one open is on the Southside, so it doesn’t really make sense for you to follow me home.”

 _Is this woman out of her mind?_ “There is absolutely no way I am letting you go to the Southside alone after 10pm— or really after anytime!” He half-yelled. His palms were flat on the counter and his face was very close to hers. “I’ll go now. What do you want?”

“Beanie Boy you don’t control what I do!” She yelled back at him.

“Betty Cooper, if you go to the store on the Southside right now, I can’t guarantee that something won’t happen to you.”

“Oh, and since when has it been your job to protect me?” She asked loudly.

“Since you decided it was a good idea to go running off to the Southside in the god-damn dark!”

“Beanie Boy, I swear on that stupid little hat of yours”

“If you don’t let me go for you I’ll introduce myself to the rest of the school and let you hear it through the grapevine,” he snapped.

They stared at each other breathing heavily, and both knew that that was a lie. As soon as he said it, Jughead wished it could take it back. But he couldn’t. And if Betty called his bluff he’d be fucked. But she didn’t instead she just screamed,

“Ugh! Fine!”

“Fine!” He yelled back. “And since you’ve decided to be difficult, I’m picking the flavors myself!

Jughead barged outside and took a deep breath. He turned around and saw Betty starting to squeeze her nails into her fists. _No,_ Jughead thought. He ran back inside and got to her in less than three steps. He grabbed both of her hands and pushed his own through them so that their palms were pressed together.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly, “I just know how bad it gets at night, and I know how bad the guys who hang out in front of the store are.” He paused, “and I’d never let anyone else at Riverdale High know my name before you.”

“I know,” she said, but wasn’t looking at him. “I said I trusted you. I do.”

“Don’t do this,” he said, applying a bit of pressure on their hands. “Please, I’ll be right back.”

She nodded and he let go. He turned around and half-smiled at her. Then he slipped out the door and ran to his car.

When Jughead got to the store, he grabbed a carton of vanilla ice cream for her, and a carton of coffee Oreo for him. He also bought a new thing of cigarettes before walking out, knowing he’d probably rip through half before this conversation was over.

Looking around the store, he knew that telling Betty to let him go was a good idea. Drunken Serpents littered the front and the man behind the counter was a known felon. He had no doubt that Betty could handle herself, but he was not prepared to let her wander through the streets of the Southside alone.

It was 9:54 when he got back. He placed the ice cream in the back seat of the car and jogged back up to the diner. It was still fairly warm outside, so he was just in a black t-shirt and hoodie.

She was just waving bye to Pop when he walked up to the front door. She had changed out of her uniform and back into those overalls that Jughead wanted to see her in everyday. He wondered how hard it would be to get them off. How fast he could undo the buttons by her hips and slide them down her legs.

He was lost in the idea of her legs thrown over his shoulders while he did unspeakable things to her when she walked up to him.

“Hi,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“Nope,” he replied, “but I’m leaning into the fear and hoping for a happy ending... or something like that.”

“What kind of happy ending?” She asked with a smirk.

His eyes darkened. “That’s a dangerous game, Betty Cooper, and I’m not sure I’m ready for you to start it yet.”

“And if I’m ready?” Betty asked.

“You’re not,” he said with finality. He pushed at the door and held it open for her.

She hummed with displeasure but walked through and shocked him by grabbing his hand. He led her over to his car and opened the drivers side door, motioning for her to get in.

She sat down on the drivers seat and turned so her left side was leaning against the seat. Then she kicked off her sneakers and tucked her feet under herself so her whole body was on the seat.

Jughead sighed, leaned against the open door, and pulled out by the pack of cigarettes he bought when he got the ice cream and lit one, blowing the smoke up and away from her.

“The ice cream’s in the back seat. I put spoons in there too if you wanted to eat it while I ruin whatever this is.” He grumbled at the last part. He realized that this might be the last time he would get to talk to Betty Cooper, to even have her look back at him without screaming, and he needed to butter her up with vanilla ice cream while that happened.

Betty surprised him by grabbing the coffee Oreo instead. She opened it and worked the spoon into the still way too frozen dessert. She finally got a bite and put it in her mouth. She motioned for him to start his story. He took a deep breath and contemplated just not saying anything and ending things right there. But as always, she did something to totally shock him.

“I’m not going to run when you tell me, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“Try me,” she said softly.

“My name is Jughead,” he said really quickly.

There was silence as Betty’s jaw hung slightly open. She snapped it shut and asked, “your name is what?”

“Jughead.”

“That’s uh...”

“Yeah,” he said taking another huge drag.

“Do you have a last name, Jughead?”

He exhaled a huge cloud of smoke and said, “I’m getting there,”

She waved her hand as an indication to keep going.

“I had really shitty parents growing up. My mom left with my sister when I was really young and my dad was an abusive alcoholic. There wasn’t nothing good about either of them. But my dad was and is way worse.

“He isn’t around right now. He’s in jail. He got himself mixed up in some bad shit and now he’s serving life and left me in a situation that I should have never been left in.”

“Who’s your dad?” She asked.

“Well... he _didn’t_ kill Clifford Blossom.”

She was silent for a few moments, continuing to dig at the ice cream. Jughead wanted to take it and force a reaction out of her. She finally got a bite from the carton and looked at him. Swallowing she said,

“Okay. So you’re FP Jones’s son Your name is Jughead Jones.”

She wasn’t running or screaming. She was just rationalizing his name.

“Actually Jughead is just a nickname, I have many names, you know.”

“So you have another... two names?”

“Yes, but they’re worse than the nickname.”

They stood there silently. He continued to take drags on his cigarette and she continued to pick at the ice cream.

“The thing he left me, what I didn’t want? It was being the leader of the Serpents. I am the youngest in all of Serpent history. People talk. People talk all the time. I didn’t want you to know my name because I didn’t want you to judge me for the position I was put in by my dad’s mistakes. I didn’t want you to run screaming,” he said slowly. He didn’t want to scare her with this new information, but there was no turning back now.

“But why was what I thought important?”

He took a step closer to her. “Don’t you get it, Betty Cooper,” he said tucking a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, “it’s everything.”

She looked like she wanted to say something back, but decided against it. His hand stayed lightly pressed against her cheek and she gently rested her head against it. The moment was so absent of noise or movement, that neither noticed that the ice cream that Betty was holding had dropped to the ground, splattered on Jughead’s shoes, and rolled under the Jeep.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” Betty said jumping up. She grabbed a few napkins from her bag and handed them to him. He wiped off his shoes and walked over to the trash bin to throw them away.

She was standing against the Jeep now. He stood next to her and let the side of the body press against hers. The stayed there while Jughead finished his cigarette.

“Do you still want to follow me home?” She asked. If he didn’t know better, he’d think there was hope behind her eyes.

“Of course,” he said too quickly.

He handed her her shoes and walked with her over to her truck and opened the door. She climbed up into driver seat and sat the same way she had in his car.

“I’m gonna pull into the driveway. You can park somewhere by the front of the house.”

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll see you soon.” He shut the door behind him and jogged over to his car. He lit another cigarette as he waited for her at the top of the parking lot. As he drove behind her towards Elm St., he thought about their conversation.

She didn’t run from him, in fact she still wanted him to follow her home. And speaking of that, she knew about this morning, and even that didn’t make her run. He told her about the Serpents and she didn’t run.

She just, didn’t run.

_Who are you, Betty Cooper?_

Jughead pulled up to the house before hers and cut the lights and engine. He waited for her to get out of the truck to unlock the doors. He jumped out and met her in the driveway. They silently walked up to the front door together when two headlights came swinging into view. Betty quickly stepped into a shadow and pulled Jughead against her. She waited until the lights from the other car had been turned off and they heard the telltale sound of a front door opening and closing to pull herself off the wall and away from Jughead. 

She blushed at him, and Jughead wanted to eat it right off of her face. Instead he grabbed her hand and like this morning and kissed it. This time, his kiss was more sure and a little more open mouthed. Jughead didn’t know when chaste kisses started to turn him on, but he knew that kissing Betty Cooper’s hand was the sexiest thing he had ever done.

“Until tomorrow Betty Cooper.” He placed one last feather light kiss on her knuckles before stepped off the porch, and walked to his car.

He had almost gotten there when she yelled,

“Jughead Jones!”

He froze, forgetting that the days of being Beanie Boy were over, and he was actually Jughead now.

“What?” He yelled back.

She ran off the porch and stood right in front of him. They were almost touching and he had to resist the urge to wrap his arms around her waist. Instead, she stood up on her tip-toes and pressed a delicate kiss to his cheekbone right by his ear and whispered,

“You don’t scare me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jughead was fairly unbalanced this chapter. From stalking Betty while running to flipping out at Pop’s. But he tooooooold her!! And she reacted as only Betty Cooper would. Their communication gets interesting after this point and I can’t wait for you to read it!
> 
> As always, let me know what you think down below!
> 
> Until next week, sweet readers.
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	4. U Make Me So Vulnerable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She did, however, know a few things to be absolutely certain.
> 
> 1\. Jughead Jones, leader of the Southside Serpents, had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.  
> 2\. Apparently, Sweet Pea was aggressive in the bedroom.  
> 3\. Archie had real genuine feelings for her.  
> 4\. Though she should have been, she wasn’t scared of Jughead Jones. In fact, she might be completely drawn to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovelies!  
> I once again love you all for showing such amazing interest and love towards this fic! I love this chapter and hope you do too.
> 
> —  
> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to the CW and creators of Riverdale. I just like writing about them.
> 
> This chapter is un-beta’d so any mistakes are my own.
> 
> (Also this bad boy is coming at you at 9.2k words...)

_Both Eyes On You — Au∂ur_

**(BPOV)~Tuesday~**

Beanie Boy, the guy she had a maybe (definitely) crush on, was actually Jughead Jones, leader of the Southside Serpents.

And he actually watched her run super early in the yesterday morning.

Right.

Nothing weird about this at all.

She wasn’t all that sure why she didn’t go on her run that morning, but she chalked it up to the fact that Alice wasn’t there and she could sleep in. But in the back of her mind she didn’t want to entertain the idea that she was hiding from him.

Him.

Was she supposed to call him Jughead Jones or Beanie Boy? Or both?

She got ready for her day slowly, still not wanting to run into Archie and still trying to figure out what to do about Jughead.

She was still practicing saying his name in her head. It felt weird on her tongue.

It also felt beautiful. It felt beautiful because he trusted her with his name. Trusted her not to run. And she didn’t want to, but she was still worried about seeing him now that she knew. She was worried that it would change the way that she saw him.

Most importantly she was worried about what would change when he saw her. Subconsciously she knew that there was something dangerous about him, but she wasn’t expecting that he ran a gang. And she wasn’t lying to him when she said she wasn’t scared, because she wasn’t. But she was nervous, and she wasn’t going to pretend otherwise.

She spent way longer than necessary shampooing, conditioning, and blow drying her hair. She opted out of wearing her hear in a ponytail and again put it up in a bun, and threw on a dark green oversized crew neck sweatshirt and black leggings. She could only wear non-pastels when Alice was gone, so she was taking advantage of the rare week alone.

She was going through her Instagram when a text from Jughead came through.

 **Beanie Boy— 7:14am:** _How are you getting to school today Betty Cooper?_

 _Is this supposed to be a “good morning” text?_ She thought

 **Betty— 7:15am:** _Is this your attempt at a “Good Morning” text Jughead Jones?_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:19am:** _Betty Cooper you’d know if it was a “Good Morning” text_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:19am:** _This is a “do you need a ride to school” text_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:19am:** _I know you have your truck_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:19am:** _But that thing sounds like it needed an oil change thirty years ago_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:22am:** _Betty Cooper are you ignoring me?_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:22am:** _Betty?_

 **Betty— 7:23am:** _Hey! Sorry I almost burnt my bacon which would have ruined my entire day_

 **Betty— 7:23am:** I’m not ignoring you. Your million texts made that impossible.

 **Beanie Boy— 7:24am** _Hold on_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:24am** _You don’t like burnt bacon?!_

 **Betty— 7:27am** _Crispy yes. Burnt, no_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:28am** _We’ll talk about this later_

 **Beanie Boy— 7:28am** _I’m leaving now. Am I getting you?_

She desperately wanted to say yes and get a ride into school with him, but she also needed the ten minute drive to figure out how she was going to deal with the day. It seemed like he was treating her the same, if not more interested, but she had no gage for what was normal and what wasn’t. Especially when it came to him.

 **Betty— 7:32am** _No. See you there._

She cleaned up her breakfast got ready to leave. As she walked up to the truck, she saw Archie heading out of his house. She looked away from him before he could say or do anything. She looked at the time and realized that she subconsciously got up and out of the house at the same time that she would need to in order to walk in. She pulled out of her driveway and began the drive to school.

Betty exhaled intensely. _What the hell is even going on?_ There was no explanation for what was happening. Things like this didn’t happen to Betty anymore. She was in the after. She was normal had a set routine and set friends and wore the same shade of pink every day. She didn’t wear black and dark green or befriend gang members. She definitely didn’t develop feelings for gang leaders.

Betty _thought_ she was in the after. This was a whole new territory of time that she didn’t understand. She was supposed to be in the after.

But what comes after the after?

Was she in the now?

She did, however, know a few things to be absolutely certain.

1\. Jughead Jones, leader of the Southside Serpents, had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen.  
2\. Apparently, Sweet Pea was aggressive in the bedroom.  
3\. Archie had real genuine feelings for her.  
4\. Though she should have been, she wasn’t scared of Jughead Jones. In fact, she might be completely drawn to him.

She kept this running list of things in her brain as she put the car in park in the school’s lot. She saw Sweet Pea walking in her direction so she waved him over. She opened the door sat in her truck the same way she had sat in Jughead’s Jeep the night before.

“Hey Coop,” Sweet Pea called when he got up to her. “What’s up? Couldn’t get enough of this Pea in the hallway yesterday?”

“Sweet Pea,” she exhaled, “can you ever hold a conversation without bringing sex into it?”

He looked like he was really trying to think about how to answer. “Yeah,” he said with a nod, “I can. Okay, for real, what’s up?”

“Where’s Jughead Jones?” Betty asked. The look on Sweet Pea’s face confused her until she realized she called him by his actual name and not the nickname she gave him. Sweet Pea had probably caught on to the fact that Jughead hadn’t ever said his name and that Betty had been exclusively been referring to him as Beanie Boy.

“I— How? You? What?”

“I know you know that he hoping to never tell me. But honestly, how are you this confused? Betty asked. When Sweet Pea just stared at her she said, “he told me last night. I know, okay? I know who his is and who you are and I don’t really care but I am wondering where he is because I need to talk to him.”

“Woah, woah, woah, Coop! Where is the fire? You’re talking faster than Toni when she tried coke for the first time.”

“Sweet Pea... I didn’t need to know that... wait! How old is Toni? When did she try this!”

“Coop do you want answers about the times we tried drugs or do you want to know where Jug is?” She glared him so he said, “right. Sorry, again. He’s not here yet. We were all going to leave together but he had to do something first. He should be here soon.” He then got a real look at her and asked “you doing okay there, Coop?”

“Am I absolutely crazy for not being scared by any of this? Because I’m not. Not scared. But I’m still confused and have a ton of questions and I don’t know what I can ask and what I can’t, so I just sit here wondering if the thing he had to do before school was gang related, or if he spilled coffee on his shirt and needed to change!” She took a huge breath after saying this and looked back up at Sweet Pea. She expected him to have a look of complete horror and disbelief on his face. She basically laid out her fears out on the table for someone who she’s known for less than a week. It felt insane.

_Is this what the now is?_

It felt insane until Sweet Pea took one big step towards her and wrapped her in a hug. He trapped her arms to her body, so all she could do was grab the lapels of his leather jacket.

He kept his head on top of hers and they stayed like that for a while. Betty found it oddly comforting, but also, very, very, weird. He didn’t say anything to try to make her feel better, he just hugged her until he heard a car pull up behind them. It was Jughead. Sweet Pea let go of her and gave her a wink.

Surprisingly, Betty knew exactly what that wink meant.

When Jughead walked up to them, Sweet Pea was leaning partially on Betty’s seat. She had her arm fairly close to his but not quite touching. Jughead noticed their closeness and his eyes turned the same stormy grey-blue that they did when she first tripped and fell on Sweet Pea last Thursday.

“Pea,” he said with a nod of his head. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Morning, Boss Man,” he replied. “They’re back at the cars, waiting for you. I’d be over there too but Coop here saw me when she pulled in and waved me over.”

Jughead hummed with a non-committal tone. “Go tell everyone I’m here and that I’ll meet them over there in a second,” then he said in a quieter, but somehow more dangerous voice, “that’s an order.”

Sweet Pea looked like he wanted to protest, but ultimately decided not to. He lifted his hand up for a high-five and Betty gave it a fist bump instead. She didn’t do high fives— more of a chance for people to see her palms that way.

Once he walked away, Jughead sidled right up to Betty and stood directly in front of her. He placed one hand on the roof of her car, completely blocking her view from the rest of the parking lot. That’s when she noticed the white bag in his hand.

“Good morning, Jughead Jones,” she said with a small smile. “Whatcha got there?” She asked, pointing to the white bag.

“Betty Cooper,” he said back, “you are absolutely trying to kill me.”

“I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” she said with fake shock.

“I highly doubt that,” he said lowly. Betty tried to hide the visible shiver that went through her body, but she couldn’t.

Jughead smiled at that.

“What’s in the bag, Beanie Boy?”

“You’re still calling me that?” He asked her.

“Do you want me not to?” She replied quickly.

“No! I mean, uh, no. It’s fine. Both or either are fine,” he spluttered out.

“I tried coming up with combinations of the two this morning,” she said honestly.

“Oh?”

“Yeah”

“And how did that go?”

“Well other than the obvious, ‘Beanie Jones’ or ‘Jughead Boy,’ the only one I could come up with was ‘Bughead.’”

“‘Bughead?!’” He choked out.

“I know!” She laughed. “Let’s agree to never say it ever again.”

“Done. Deal. Easy.”

“But okay, what’s in the bag?”

“Oh! Breakfast. Two bacon, egg, and cheeses, one sausage, egg, and cheese and two cinnamon rolls,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Seriously? That’s a stupid amount of food,” she said with a laugh.

“Well it’s not all for me. One of the cinnamon rolls is for you,” he said, pulling out a smaller bag from the large white one. “I had them put it in a small bag so it didn’t smell of _burnt_ bacon and eggs.”

“Your eggs are burnt to?” Betty asked, taking the bag from him.

“Shut up and eat you roll, Betty Cooper.”

“Make me, Jughead Jones.”

Jughead’s eyes turned a shade of dark blue that Betty had never seen before. She would have flinched back if she hadn’t been roped into a staring contest.

Without warning, Jughead leaned in and pressed his cheek against Betty’s like she had just last night and breathed against her ear,

“You’re still trying to play a game you’re not ready for, Betty Cooper.”

Then he was gone, turning swiftly on his heel and walking over to where Sweet Pea had come from. He yelled back over his shoulder “eat the roll, Betty Cooper!”

She stared at the sticky confection that started to melt a little on her fingers and thought about how fun it would be to lick it off in front of him. She liked testing him. She wasn’t sure she was ready for him to break, or even play the same game back, but she was enjoying the way his reactions made her feel.

She jumped out of the truck and grabbed her bag. When she walked into school Veronica and Cheryl were standing against her locker. They eyed her as she pulled part of the roll off and placed it in her mouth.

“I know for a fact you would never get that for yourself. _And_ I also know Archie isn’t walking you in this week, so it couldn’t be from him,” Cheryl said with mock questioning.

“You’re so right, Cher!” Veronica said with that same fake cheer and confusion. “Was our sweet Betty gifted a sweet treat from one tall, dark, and handsome?”

“For your information,” Betty started, “Archie won’t be walking me in at all in the mornings.”

“I am actually choosing to ignore that statement until you tell us where you got that cinnamon roll from,” Cheryl demanded.

“Beanie Boy,” Betty said shrugging, “whose name I actually learned last night.”

“Last night! Cheryl exclaimed.

“Yeah he came to Pop’s as my shift was ending and we started talking, and then he followed me home so we could finish,” Betty said.

_Once again with the half truths, Elizabeth. At this point I don’t think they’d judge you, but probably a good idea to leave out the fact that he watched you run early in the morning and found your house without ever saying anything to him._

Running. She had forgotten about that. It was something she wanted to confront him on this morning. That and how running a gang works. Oh, and his feelings. 

And if he was also in the now.

“Okay,” so Veronica stressed, “what’s his name!”

Betty looked down at her cinnamon roll and started ripping it apart. She didn’t think her friends would judge, but she also wouldn’t put it past them to make comments forever.

“Jughead Jones,” Betty said. “And Cheryl before you start screaming about how his dad killed Jason, you know that’s not the truth. And he’s in jail anyway. And Jughead isn’t his dad. And yes, I have eight-million questions for him that I was going to ask this morning but he brought me this damn cinnamon roll and I turned into an absolute sugary melting fool!”

No one said anything. Not even Cheryl.

It was Veronica who broke the silence. “Okay so he runs a gang and has a stupid name and obviously likes you,” she said, “what else are we making comments about?”

“Everything!” Cheryl screeched. “Betty! How do you know that he isn’t dangerous? The Serpents are known criminals. His own dad confessed to my brother’s murder for money. Then found out my dad did it, and then he still went to jail!!!”

“I don’t,” Betty said simply. “I don’t know that he isn’t dangerous. That’s why I was looking for him before class, because I need to know at least something.”

Cheryl looked taken aback. “Well okay then,” she said. “When you know, we know. I’m not trying to hear things through different gossipers and have to come to you for confirmation. I just want to be able to know.” Then she took a deep breath and said, “and I want to be able to shut the rumors down.”

Everyone took another deep breath. Then without warning Cheryl said, “so are you going to tell us about Archie?”

“Oh yeah! So he was camped out in the Blue and Gold and I was expecting Bean— _Jughead_ to be there because he said he was going to meet me at free period, but no! Archie was sitting on the couch like he owned the fucking place and proceeded to tell me that Jughead and Sweet Pea specifically were gang members and dangerous, which... I guess is true, but then he had the audacity to call me, _me,_ naive. So then I lost it on him and told him to leave me alone and not walk me in anymore.”

Betty realized that that was the second incredibly long rant that she had about a boy just today. Except the one in the parking lot was about having conflicting emotions towards a beautiful gang leader and the one she just had was about an ignorant asshole.

“Holy shit,” Veronica breathed. “He is such an asshole. God! Betty what did you ever see in him?”

“An idealized infatuation based in Taylor Swift songs and a River Vixens uniform,” she said bitterly.

“Speaking of Vixens,” Cheryl said, “we’re staying over at yours tonight, Betty.”

“You are?” Betty asked at the same time as Veronica asked, “we are?”

“Yes,” Cheryl said. “I bought a handle of tequila and margarita mix yesterday...” she trailed off.

“Oh, Cher,” Veronica said, “why didn’t you call?”

“Because,” she started, but was cut off by the bell signaling first period.

“After practice,” Betty confirmed. “The three of us, a large cheese pizza, a handle of tequila and a bottle of margarita mix.” Then she walked away, shuddering. When Veronica went dark, everyone had a great nights sleep and woke up with only a minor weed headache. When Cheryl went dark, Betty somehow always ended up wearing sunglasses inside all day and praying she threw up first thing in the morning to ensure a lack of nausea the next day.

She was able to actually be productive and focused in History despite the ever present need to think about Jughead. She still had too many questions but she didn’t feel as terrified by them as she once had. Talking to Cheryl and Veronica helped, knowing she had people she could go to with the information who wouldn’t judge.

The bell for second period sounded and Betty walked over to her chemistry lab. She was shocked yet pleasantly surprised to see Joaquin and Toni sitting near the back where Archie sat. And speaking of Archie, she happened to be expecting his glare mixed with sadness as she entered the room. What she was not expecting was someone sitting at her lab table.

Let alone a beanie wearing someone.

She walked over and put her stuff down next to him and pretending that him being there was the most normal thing in the world.

“Almost late for class, Betty Cooper? I didn’t expect that of you,” he said casually.

“You can blame it on first period History,” she responded. “We got very into the War of 1812 and lost track of time.”

“Ah yes, 1812. I remember it like it was yesterday.” When she didn’t respond he asked, “did you finish the cinnamon roll?”

“Yes,” she said while grabbing her notebook out of her bag, “it was really good.”

“Good,” he said with a smirk.

Then the chemistry teacher walked in and called for everyone to be quiet. He was going over the day’s agenda and the upcoming quiz on Friday. Then he asked that all of the Southsiders introduce themselves. Betty turned behind her as Joaquin, Toni and a few other Southsiders that she didn’t know walked up to the front of the room. As they approached their table, Jughead stood and followed them.

They lined up at the front of the room and Jughead shoved his fists under his armpits, his face turning to one of stone. As they went down the line and introduced themselves, Betty started to press her fingernails into her palms at the jabs and noises of displeasure her classmates were making towards the back of the class. Her eyes met Jughead’s and he shook his head imperceptibly as his eyes traveled to her hands.

Then it was his turn to introduce himself.

“My name is Jughead Jones. Yes, I said Jughead. No, don’t ask me about it. Yes, Jones. Yes as in FP Jones.” He turned and asked, “can we sit now?” But before the teacher could give an answer, they all started to move back to their seats. Jughead slid in next to her easily and Betty sensed the intense stare on her as she continued to look straight ahead. Her hands were in her lap and she could feel his hands travel to her own and gently but firmly pry her fingers away from her palm.

“Come on, Betty Cooper, please,” he murmured. She finally let him pull her fingers apart, but as soon as she did, she realized she had broken the skin and she started to panic. She needed to get the bandaids from her bag and get to the bathroom without causing any suspicion.

She was running through as many different scenarios as possible when two small bandages from her bag and a notebook appeared. The notebook was open, and one word was written on the page:

_Go_

“I’m going to the bathroom,” she said loudly, and like Jughead, didn’t wait for a reply before scraping her chair back and walking swiftly out of the room. She ignored the confused faces of her classmates and bolted out of the room.

_How the fuck did you know about the side pocket bandaids, Jones?_

She added the bandaid question to her running list called “Things I Will Get Out of Jughead ‘Beanie Boy’ Jones,” and continued towards the bathroom.

When she got there she locked the door, dropped the notebook and bandages, and turned on the tap, all in one swift movement. While she waited for the water to run clear, she thought about the comments that her classmates were making and wondering why it sent her so far over the edge.

_Do they know something I don’t? Is it insane that this isn’t scaring me? Is it scaring me? Why did a couple nasty comments make me so angry?_

It’s the now.

She patted her hands with a paper-towel and put on the bandaids that Jughead gave her. She looked at herself in the mirror and realized that she could not go back to class considering where her head was at. Except she couldn’t leave her stuff in the chemistry room only to have to go back in at the end to go and grab it.

She unlocked the door and walk back down the hallway anyway, hoping that an excuse would come to mind before she got there.

_Elizabeth, your head has been so in the clouds lately. What would Alice say if she knew what was going on?_

_Alice!_

“Sir,” Betty said as she entered the room, “my mother is on the phone with the front desk and apparently they need me to come urgently. I’m not sure how long the call will take, but I think it’s best I take my stuff.” Once again she didn’t wait for a response and she mentally thanked Jughead for setting that precedent.

Jughead looked at her from her chair and almost looked like he was going to get up and she shook her head at him, hoping that he could sort of understand what she was trying to get at. Then she left the room and walked over to the Blue and Gold. When she got there she pulled out her phone and fired off a text:

 **Betty— 9:42am:** _Meet me in the Blue and Gold after class?_

 **Beanie Boy— 9:44am:** _Until then, Betty Cooper._

Betty sat down on the couch and sunk into the cushions. How was she supposed to ask all of her questions in the ten minute span between classes? Did she still even want to ask them? Was she actually scared?

She was still very lost in thought when Jughead opened the door to the Blue and Gold. He walked in and placed his bag on the desk at the front of the room. Then he walked over to her and hesitated. He looked like he wanted to come and sit next to her, but instead opted to lean against the table across from her.

“Are you okay, Betty Cooper?”

She didn’t answer for a while and tilted her head towards him. She wanted to answer him honestly, but that would require her knowing what the honest answer was. She just nodded her head and pulled herself off of the couch.

“I will be, Jughead Jones,” she replied walking over to him. He was leaning in such a way that Betty could step between his legs and be close to him. She wanted to badly to do that, and to have him wrap his arms around her body.

She wanted to know what it was like to be held by him.

Instead she stayed three feet away.

“I have questions that need answering,” she said.

He nodded slowly, “okay. What do you want to know?”

“I don’t have enough time between this and next class. And even if I did, it’s not something I’d want to do at school.”

He nodded again. “Understood. Do you want me to meet you at Pop’s after your shift again?”

“I have Tuesday’s off.”

“I’ll follow you home from school?”

“I have cheerleading practice.”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Betty Cooper. You’re a cheerleader?” He exclaimed.

She frowned at this, “why! What’s it to you?”

“Well first of all, it’s not really something I’d expect from you because of how much you work. And second, it plays dangerously into this already dangerous game you’re trying to start, and I’m running out of patience.”

Betty really wanted to explore more of this game she had started, but time was not allowing it.

“Yes. I’m a cheerleader. And Cheryl, my co-captain— yes Jughead I’m also a captain stop looking at me like that— knows my schedule so we work around my work schedule,” she explained, wanting to wipe the unreadable expression off of his face.” “But you can come by around 5:30. To my house. You know where that is right?” Betty looked at him and smirked. One of her questions had to do with the other morning, and she wanted to test his reaction.

In true fashion, he pushed himself off of the table, walked right up to her, and grabbed her hand. Raising it towards his face, he flipped it over and placed a small kiss on her palm, right below her newly opened scars.

“Until then, Betty Cooper.”

Then he was gone, and Betty was left tingling all over.

Later Betty would blame her reopened scars on the fact that she forgot about her plans to drown in a bottle of tequila and greasy pizza that night.

* * *

**(JPOV)**

Jughead rolled up to the front of the Cooper house and parked. He grabbed the half-finished strawberry milkshake from his cup holder and walked up to the front door. He could hear loud music playing through the walls and questioned why there was such a big commotion for such a small person. 

He was not expecting Veronica Lodge, in a pair of sweatpants and a tank top no less, to open the door. They stared at each other, both unsure what to do next. Then Veronica’s face broke out into an unreadable smirk as she yelled, “Betty Boop! It’s for you!”

Jughead heard Betty’s voice grow louder as she said, “V, you said you were buying the pizza since I am hosting this last minute function,” she stopped abruptly as she saw Jughead standing in the door. She was holding an already open bottle of tequila and wearing a sweatshirt so large that Jughead couldn’t tell if she had pants on or not.

_This just isn’t going to go well._

“Not pizza,” he smirked at her open-mouthed expression, “but I do come bearing a strawberry milkshake. Well, a half-finished strawberry milkshake.”

Betty still hadn’t moved, and Jughead started to worry. But she snapped to and passed the tequila to Veronica. “Oh my god. I completely forgot when I told you that you could come by that they were staying over.”

He tried to hide his disappointment behind his smirk, “I can go,” he said.

“No! I’m... um... yeah,” she said to Veronica, handing her the tequila, “don’t start the next batch without me.” Then she stepped towards Jughead and walked out of the front door, shutting it behind them.

“Tequila is your drink of choice? I’m surprised, I would have guessed gin. And on a Tuesday, no less! I would have thought you’d frown on such things, Betty Cooper,” Jughead said, handing her the milkshake.

She took it from him and sipped on it while saying, “normally I do. But if Cheryl needs us to drink margaritas all night on a Tuesday, well, we drink margaritas. Same goes if V needs to smoke an ounce.”

“And what do they do for you?”

She looked up at him and said quietly, “they give me bandaids.”

“Ah,” he said and lifted her hand. “Speaking of bandaids, how are you feeling?”

She hoisted herself onto the front of his Jeep and grabbed the cup out of his hand. “I have questions,” she said. “A lot of them.”

“Okay,” he said slowly. He leaned up against the car next to her, “start with the first one.”

“Where did you find my bandaids?”

“What?” Jughead questioned.

“The bandaids. In my bag?”

“Well, Betty Cooper. I lead a gang. Like a real one. So I keep _my own_ bandaids in _my own_ bag. The ones I gave you I snatched from my bag as soon as I sat down. But it is good to know you keep them too.”

“Okay, fair,” she said. “Next question, what is your role?”

“Are you going to be asking me questions this fast all night?” Jughead asked.

“If I have to!” Then she took a deep breath and a sip of her milkshake. “Okay, answer the question.”

“Ask it again?”

“What is your role, Jughead Jones?”

“As leader of the Serpents?” She nodded her head. “I tell them what to do and what not to do.” She gave him a pointed look and raised her eyebrow.

“Right, okay. Basically I have the final say on everything that happens. There isn’t a decision that doesn’t go through me.” Then he trailed off, “even the illegal ones.”

She nodded slowly and sipped the milkshake. “Those are the ones I’m most concerned with.”

He looked at her. She was beautiful. She sat there chewing on her bottom lip and Jughead wanted to slowly remove it from her teeth and smooth over the ridges with his thumb. Then bite it himself. Instead he pushed himself off the car and stood in front of her. She was sitting with her legs crossed on the hood, and he put his arms on either side of them and looked up.

“When my dad was in charge, he was hellbent on selling really hard drugs and running guns. It was the reason he went to jail and is serving as much time as he is. I don’t tolerate the running of guns from the younger Serpents, like Pea or Joaquin, but some of the older Serpents are set in their ways. So I let them run what they want when they want, but it’s not from in our club, and my name isn’t mentioned.”

There was a silent moment before she said, “okay.”

“Okay?”

“Okay.”

“This morning you made it seem like you had so many more!”

“Well,” she said looking at him, “I do. But you answered all of the big scary ones. The ones that kept me awake last night...” she trailed off. Then a look of angry realization hit her. “Wait a second!” She yelled, “how the fuck did you even know where I lived?”

He tried hard not to not laugh at her outburst. “Breathe, Betty Cooper. I went for an early morning drive through Riverdale and parked on Elm St. because I saw you coming out of this house!”

She still looked at him angrily. “Well why were you even here!”

_Because I had a dream someone was trying to kidnap and torture you_

“I don’t know,” he said. It was the most honest answer he could give. “I went out for a drive because it was the first day of Riverdale. And Elm St. is the most cookie cutter street in this town, and you seemed like the type to be in a house with a white picket fence.”

“That was still so fucking creepy and totally uncalled for!” Betty screamed. “And if you do it again, Jughead Jones, I’ll never speak to you! Ever!”

_Nope we are not having that shit._

“Betty, Middle Name I Don’t Know, Cooper. I solemnly swear to never do it again. I will always text you first and see if I can _even run with you at the ass crack of dawn_ because I can never handle you not speaking to me. And! If you don’t text me back or say no I promise on this beanie that I won’t come over.”

_Consent is sexy, Jones. Remember that shit._

“Hmph,” she huffed. He could see the smile threatening to break through her face, so he took a chance and stepped closer.

_There is a better way to be in between this woman’s legs!_

“Betty Cooper,” he said lowly. “Why, are you not wearing pants?”

She shifted forward towards him slightly and placed his hands on his shoulders.

“Because, Jughead Jones,” she said, “I’m about to get unbelievably drunk.”

Then she slid down the hood of his car, took one last sip of the milkshake and handed the almost empty cup back to him.

As she walked away she called out, “why do you always bring me a half finished strawberry shake? I thought you didn’t like them?”

“Well, Betty Cooper. You do. And it’s the closest way I can get my lips on yours at this current time.”

She didn’t turn back as she walked up to her front porch, but she did do a quick spin which lifted up her sweatshirt so Jughead could see just how long her legs were in those god damn tiny fucking shorts.

_Betty Cooper, you really are trying to kill me._

///////////////

_Wednesday_

The next morning Jughead skipped asking Betty if she needed a ride to school. He figured none of the girls would be driving that morning and knew that Veronica had a driver who would be bringing them in.

Instead he opted for additional bacon, egg, and cheeses and cinnamon rolls, and decided to meet them at school. He also made the last minute decision to get a big water and the largest black coffee he could find and grabbed a handful of sugars, too. He hoped that their conversation the previous night had eased a bit of her worry about his life and his job, but he wasn’t sure. He bit into the first sandwich as he waited for them to arrive. When he saw the town car pull up and the girls get out, he almost laughed out loud.

While Cheryl and Veronica looked mildly put together, they both still lacked their heiress charms. Betty on the other hand... Betty was in a somehow larger sweatshirt than she had been in the night before and leggings. The best part about it was that she was wearing a pair of very inconspicuous black aviator sunglasses even though it was remarkably overcast.

He walked up to them and Cheryl whispered something in Betty’s ear. Her head snapped up, which she immediately grabbed in pain, and Jughead could see her glare at Cheryl from where he stood five yards away. Betty elbowed Cheryl’s side and said something back to them as she walked over to where he was standing.

Unbeknownst to Jughead, Sweet Pea, Joaquin, Toni and Fangs had walked up behind him and were standing there watching this all unfold. So Jughead was shocked to watch Betty walk right past him and into Sweet Pea’s open arms.

“Well good morning, Coop! I knew you couldn’t stay away,” he laughed as he wrapped his arms around her small frame.

 _”Shhh Sweet Pea, way too loud,”_ she said with a groan. “Just let me live in the darkness of your Serpent jacket in piece. And thank god you don’t stink, otherwise I would have thrown up on you already.” At this everyone burst out laughing and she aggressively shushed them again. She pulled away from Pea and looked up at him, glaring. Apparently hungover Betty was a touchy-feely Betty, because even though she had only met them twice at most, she next kissed Joaquin, Fangs, and Toni on the cheek and said, “the next time I ever mention the words ‘Cheryl’ and ‘Tequila’ I want to be reminded of this day.”

“You can send me in her direction next time that happens,” Toni said, patting Betty’s shoulder while walking towards the school.

“I’m always open to mid-day hugs, Coop,” Sweet Pea said. “But also let your little dark haired friend know she can get some whenever she wants too.” He smirked and walked away with Joaquin and Fangs. Fangs was still blushing a bit from when Betty had kissed his cheek a minute before and Jughead could see the small smile breaking though Joaquin’s face.

When it was just the two of them by the Jeep, Jughead opened the driver’s side door for her and let her sit against the seat like yesterday.

“I told you that’s you’d regret the margaritas, Betty Cooper” Jughead said softly, poking her nose.

She swatted his hand away asking, “what in the bag Jughead Jones?”

“Oh this bag?” He held up the white paper bag in question. “This bag has a bacon, egg and cheese with crispy bacon, and another cinnamon roll of course.” He handed her the food and then said, “there’s also a huge water and coffee in the cup holders behind you. I didn’t know how you took your coffee so there are just... a bunch of sugars spread everywhere on the front seat,” he trailed off and watched as she took a bite of the sandwich.

He wished he hadn’t looked because a small bit of grease got on the corner of her lip and he without thinking swiped it away with his thumb and licked it off his own finger. He stood absolutely still and waited for her to run away screaming, but instead she asked, “there’s coffee?”

Jughead exhaled a shaky laugh, pressing his body close to hers so he could grab the coffee and sugars behind her. “Mmm you smell good too,” she moaned into Jughead’s side.

He damn near knocked the coffee off of where it was resting on the center console, and tried to get his dick to calm down.

“Better than Sweet Pea, I hope” he choked out, as he backed out of the car with her coffee. When he looked at her, she had her head rested on the back of the seat and even though she was wearing sunglasses he could see that her eyes were closed.

He put his hand on her shoulder, “hey there, Betty Cooper, it’s time to rally and get to class,” he said shaking her.

“Mmmm,” she moaned again, “but what if I don’t?”

“What if you don’t what?”

“Like what if I just don’t go to school? Like ever again.”

“You have to go to school.”

“Ugh why?!”

“Are you always this dramatic when hungover?” Jughead asked, trying not to laugh.

“Yes,” she said while basically stomping her foot. They could hear the warning bell sound from across the parking lot. Jughead grabbed Betty’s hand and lifted her out of the Jeep and to her feet. He handed her the water and coffee, put the bag in his other hand, kept his other in hers and kicked the door shut behind them.

There were still people lingering in the parking lot, so he said, “head in before me, I’ll catch up with Pea and them.”

“Okay,” she said, tucking the bag under her arm, “see you in chem.”

She started to pull away again so Jughead yanked her arm back and she stumbled into him and a hug. At first she was incredibly tense, but then she melted into his body. He placed his head on the top of hers. 

Jughead felt like he could have stayed there forever.

The bell sounded again and Betty lifted her head to look up at him through her glasses.

_What the hell are you doing to me, Betty Cooper?_

He pushed her head back into his chest with his head and said, “until then, Betty Cooper.” He untangled himself and turned away from her, walking in the direction of Toni and them.

He moved through the rest of his classes with ease. He enjoyed them, actually. He always had enjoyed learning. Especially writing, and having been put in a creative writing class first thing in the morning definitely helped the tension he felt around being at Riverdale High.

He stopped short walking into chemistry. The ginger asshole from the other day was pressed up against Betty, trying to get her to engage in a conversation. She was quietly sipping her coffee and trying to ignore him, but Jughead could see her fist already curling under the table.

_Fuck Betty, not again._

He crossed the room in what felt like three silent strides, loudly scraped his chair back, and sat down. He discreetly shoved one hand in Betty’s and held his out for a fist bump, nodding at ginger-asshole and giving a casual, “what’s up, man. I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Jughead.”

“I know who you are,” Archie said with malice. “I’m Archie, Betty’s friend. And actually can you give us a second, we’re in the middle of a conversation.”

“But we’re not,” Betty said with emphasis. “And we’re currently aren’t friends, Arch, and I think you should leave.”

“Actually, yeah, would you mind? Betty asked me to fill her in on what she missed yesterday.”

Archie looked like he wanted to throw something, and glared suspiciously at the proximity of Betty and Jughead’s arms.

“Whatever,” he said. “I’ll talk to you later, Betty,” walking away.

“No you won’t!” Betty called after his retreating frame. She looked over at Jughead and breathed, “well hello, Jughead Jones.”

“Hey there Betty Cooper,” he said back. “How are you feeling?”

“Much better with the coffee.”

“Good,” he looked at her and almost smiled.

At that moment the teacher walked up to the front of the room and Betty took out her notes and put her head down. He chuckled softly because she was still wearing her sunglasses and every few minutes she shoved them back up her face with frustration. He tried to not get distracted by her and focus on the class, but he couldn’t. Every single thing about her intrigued him and he desperately wanted to know more.

When the bell sounded for the end of class, Betty started packing her stuff.

“I work until ten tonight,” she said while shoving her notebook back in her bag.

“Okay,” he nodded, “do you want me to follow you back?”

“No, I’m good,” she said with a smile, “thank you.” She waited until everyone was out of the room or occupied with packing up their stuff before quickly kissing his cheek, catching him off guard. Then she skipped away, not looking back at him.

_Why do you keep doing this to me? Why do you keep running? And why do I like it so much?_

The rest of Jughead’s day consisted of trying to get Sweet Pea and Fangs to pay attention in class, and Toni and Joaquin to stop laughing.

As he was walking towards his last period gym class, he heard a familiar voice yelling down the hall. He turned the corner in a panic and saw what could have been described as his worst nightmare.

Archie Andrews had Betty Cooper pressed you a locker with his whole body, and one of his hands was pushed hard against her chest, dangerously close to choking her.

“I fucking told you those Southsiders were scum and criminals and you’re hanging out with Jughead fucking Jones at night?! And you still don’t think you’re a naive fucking bitch? Honestly Betty, what the fuck. I can’t even remember what I saw in you and your fucked up ideas of normalcy!” 

Jughead had spent a long time perfecting the ways of being cool, indifferent, yet efficient in a situation. He knew how not to flinch if someone was pointing a loaded gun in his direction. He knew what to do and how remain still and unmoving if someone was throwing punches. He knew how to ease his friends down from full blown moments of sheer panic that would cause them to lose their cool and potentially get very hurt.

He wasn’t, however, expecting to be frozen in place, unable to move as he watched some guy basically try kill Betty Cooper in the middle of a high school hallway. He wanted to move, he was begging his body to propel forward, but it couldn’t. He was screaming on the inside. It felt like he was on fire.

But then Betty turned her head and made eye contact with him. The look in her eyes was a mix of panic, terror and... relief? Relief to see him, hoping he would help her.

That’s when his body moved, and he shifted into Serpent leader Jughead Jones.

He ran up to them, grabbed the back of Archie’s varsity fucking football jacket and threw him off of Betty and heard hit the lockers on the opposite side of the hall. While Archie was down he looked at Betty.

She was holding her chest and staring down at Archie too. When she looked up, Jughead could see tears streaming down her face and blood on her hands. He wanted to run up and comfort her, but Archie started making noise in the corner. Jughead looked around in a panic, surveying his options.

Just then, Sweet Pea turned the corner and stopped at the top of the hall. They made eye contact, and Jughead nodded his head in the direction of Archie. Sweet Pea walked over menacingly and stood over him. Archie’s vision was completely blocked by Sweet Pea’s form so he couldn’t see Jughead leading Betty away from him and down the hall. 

He found the girls bathroom and opened it. There was a freshman standing at the mirror applying lipstick and Jughead half screamed, “get the fuck out of here,” at her. She jumped and ran out the door wide eyed and terrified. When she was gone he grabbed a bunch of paper-towels and wiped down the space between the two sinks. When he looked over at Betty she was still holding her chest with glassy and glazed over eyes. Jughead walked over to her in two strides, lifted her up and put her on the sink.

He still had his hands on her waist and was standing in between her legs. 

_Get your shit together, Jones. This is not the time to be thinking about having her perfect legs wrapped around you. Seriously. There is blood all over her chest and you are getting a fucking hard on._

“Betty Cooper, baby. Can you hear me? Can you say something, please say something, anything so I know you’re okay?”

_Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third. Did you just call Betty Cooper... baby? Really? Get it together before she goes running and you have to grab a blood soaked Betty Cooper in the middle of the hallway. And why are you so obsessed with the blood that’s on her. Seriously._

He wanted to scream at his inner monologue, _Because she is hurting and it is hurting to see her hurting herself!_

At the sound of his voice, she snapped her head over to him. Her eyes came back into focus and she looked at him. He smiled slightly and said, “I’m going to get you cleaned up, okay? And then we’ll get you out of here?”

“Did you just call me...” Betty asked. 

“We aren’t talking about that right now,” Jughead said sternly. “I’m cleaning you up and then getting you out of here.”

“We?”

“Sweet Pea showed up. We were on our way to last period when I heard your voice.” He pressed a bit closer to her and asked, “what even happened?”

“Archie.”

“Yeah, no shit, Betty Cooper. I got that part.”

“No you don’t understand. I used to be... obsessed? Yeah, obsessed with Archie, and the idea that we belonged together. You know, the two people who lived side by side—“

“Wait you’re telling me that he lives next door to you?” Jughead was beginning to shake with rage.

“Yeah,” she said softly. “That’s why he got mad. He saw us last night, when we were talking. I guess he thought... I don’t know, I don’t know what he thought. But he got so angry. On Monday after I came up to you guys in the hallway, he confessed he “loved” me. Which was really just infatuation because a girl that he thought loved him really just didn’t. Or didn’t anymore.”

The rage was building inside of Jughead. He wanted to rip everything apart. He wanted to... he didn’t even know. 

“It’s my fault,” he said. The anger seeped through is voice and a worried and panicked look crossed over Betty’s face. “If I hadn’t come over, if I hadn’t come to Pops...” 

_If I hadn’t needed to be around you._

He looked away from he and started to retreat back.

“Stop it, Jughead Jones,” she said loudly. When he still didn’t listen or hear her, she grabbed his face and brought their foreheads together. “Beanie Boy. He would have eventually snapped and done something aggressive. That’s who he is. When he doesn’t get his way he freaks out. If you hadn’t been coming down the hall, I don’t know what would have happened, okay?”

He moved his head back slowly, and only just enough to be able to see her face clearly. 

“You called me Beanie Boy,” he said with a whisper.

“That’s who you are.”

Their faces were still so close. His skin felt too tight on his body and he thought he might explode. 

_I wan’t to do things to you, Betty Cooper, and you’re making it really hard to not act on those things._

So rather than lifting her up and slamming their bodies into a wall while he did unspeakable things to her face and neck he said, “I need to get you cleaned up.”

It was then that Betty realized that she was covered in blood. There were small remnants of it on Jughead’s face, and he could see the spots on his cheeks when he looked in the mirror. He turned the water on at room temperature and shrugged his jacket off. He was glad he still had his flannel around his waist, because he ripped his black sweatshirt off and handed put it in her lap. Then he untied the flannel and threw it on over the tank top that he had on. 

He stood next to Betty and helped wash the blood off her hands, and grabbed paper towels to pat her hands dry. 

“Put on the sweatshirt. Yours is dirty, and you can’t leave the school covered in blood.”

She nodded and pulled her own sweatshirt off. She was wearing only a sports bra underneath, and Jughead once again felt his skin (and pants) grow too tight. His body felt like an exposed nerve, just seeing her without really anything on. He had seen her in a sports bra before, but it was different. She was putting his clothes on her bare stomach and chest. 

He still wanted to scream.

She hopped off of the counter and walked into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest. He quickly put his own arms around her and squeezed. Hard. He kissed the top of her head and rested his chin on it. They stayed like that until there was a rapid five beat knock on the door. Betty jumped and tried to step away, but Jughead held her in place. 

“It’s Sweet Pea,” he said quietly against her ear. “I’m gonna let him in, okay?”

She nodded and Jughead reluctantly pulled away. He walked over to the door and unlocked it, knocking back five times so he knew to come in.

He stepped in he re-locked the door behind him. Then he strode over to Betty and threw an arm around her shoulders. 

“Coop. How can you come into school hungover and still manage to get into a fight without puking everywhere. Tell me your secrets.”

Betty laughed at this and looked at Jughead and smiled, “cinnamon rolls.”

“Hmm,” Sweet Pea said. “I’ll have to try that. But okay, seriously. Are you okay? What is up with this Andrew’s kid?”

“I am not telling this story again. Beanie Boy can tell you. I need to get to Pops...” she trailed off before yelling, “FUCK!”

“Holy damn, Cooper, calm down! What’s wrong?”

“I have a shift at Pop’s at four and I don’t have my car!” Betty screamed.

Sweet Pea moved his arm off of her as he saw that Jughead was walking over to her. He rested his arms on her shoulders and said, “Pea drove in today. He can drive you to your house so you can get your stuff and your car, and I’ll come in later tonight. Okay?”

She looked up at him and said, “Okay.” Then Betty said, “I’ll meet you guys outside. I probably shouldn’t be seen walking out of the bathroom with the two of you. Everyone already thinks I tie Sweet Pea up for fun.”

“You need to cut that out right now,” Jughead said as Sweet Pea doubled over in laughter. Betty smiled and then Jughead said, “I probably wont see you until tonight. I need to go find Toni, Fangs and Joaquin. But I’ll see you tonight.” Then he boldly kissed her forehead and stepped towards the door. His hand was on the handle when Betty said,

“Until then, Beanie Boy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo what did you think? I love writing Sweet Pea as you can probably see, and in the next few chapters I will be introducing the other relationships, but for now Sweet Pea is going to remain Betty’s biggest sexual advancement and Jughead is still going to be jealous!
> 
> Also!!  
> I have resurrected my tumblr, so now you can come tumble with me at @blackberry-bee ! I am going to post sneak peaks to the chapters on either Sunday or Monday!
> 
> Also next week’s chapter is actually two chapters that will be posted as (5) and (6) !
> 
> Xx
> 
> BB  
> 


	5. You Got To Keep Me Focused

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They must have looked insane. Betty had hoisted herself up so she was sitting on the counter and had her arms on Cheryl’s shoulders, mid shake. Sweet Pea had both of Veronica’s hands in one of his and the other was around her shoulders, so her back was pressed against his chest, restraining her from attacking him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo my lovely readers!
> 
> This is a little in between chapter that takes place over the course of a few hours before the next major chapter happens. 
> 
> I didn’t want to condense the two together because I knew that then it would be a 15k+ chapter and that felt cruel.
> 
> There are some pretty intense mentions of self-harm in this chapter, they are separated by a **!!!!!!!!!!**
> 
> So without any ado, here is chapter 5!
> 
> Disclaimer as usual: I don’t own any of these characters, I just like writing them  
> Also— this is unbeta’d so all mistakes are mine.

_Say So— Doja Cat_

She decided that she’d honestly be okay with Sweet Pea killing Archie Andrews.

Well, maybe not okay. But she wouldn’t regret it.

She turned her phone off and dropped it in her lap, resting her head on her palm which was against the window. She wondered how Archie could do something like this to her, after everything that they had been through, how he could try to hurt her in such a way. Was his masculinity so fragile that he couldn’t handle a rejection? Or were his motives much more aggressive than that?

Was it really about being jealous of Jughead Jones? There was no way, considering the most Archie had ever seen them do was talk while she sat on the hood of his car. 

Well she wasn’t wearing any pants.

And they did touch a lot.

And...

_No fuck that! Archie doesn’t get to try to actually kill you because you had a conversation with a boy outside of your house on a Tuesday night. Nor does he get the right to have any say or make any judgement based on the biases that an entire town placed on a few individuals because of the insignias worn on their backs._

Betty’s head went to the possibility that Jughead might run from her seeing as two days into his time at Riverdale High she got him tangled in a mess of physical fights and bloody clothes. 

It wasn’t even the worst thing that she had done, but for some reason it felt like a punch to the gut each time she thought about it. They weren’t even together, they had only been interacting for less than a week, yet Betty felt like she would stop breathing if he ever walked away. 

It was a strange and foreign thing to feel. With Archie, she could chalk up her annoyance with him to waning infatuation. With Archie, she felt no tug at something in her body, just a normalcy that she thought was on par with her idealistic views of a crush.

She finally knew what the _now_ was. It was the space between the after and the next. It was the place she never thought she’d be. During the before, she was worried about each step she made. She was worried about Polly, and the ways in which Alice tried to throw her into the same mold she put Betty in. But Polly did the opposite than what Betty; she said no. And when she did, she was sent away, had two babies, and never even knew the love of her life had been killed by his own father.

**!!!!!!!!!!**

_It was in the before that Betty first hurt herself to feel relief. At first it was an accident. It happened when she walked blindly into the kitchen and hit her hip on the corner of the counter. In that moment the searing pain of a bruise forming cleared her mind of all anxiety._

_So she did it again and again and again._

_But then it was summer and she couldn’t hide the yellow and purple bruises behind the small bathing suits that Veronica gave her._

_So one night she took to unscrewing the blade from her pencil sharpener and was poised to cut across the top of her wrist._

_Then she stopped._

What the hell are you doing?

_She got up and walked to the bathroom so she could flush the blade. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked normal, and by anyone’s standards, maybe even perfect. But she had caved in on herself and felt her outsides sinking into her insides like she would implode at any second and never be able to return._

_She sunk to the ground against the door to the bathroom and tried to cry. She thought that by crying she would find the same relief that she felt when she “accidentally” bumped into corners._

_She placed her closed fist on her inner thigh and though about what it might feel like to bring down her hand in anger and cause a bruise herself._

_Instead she squeezed so hard that the skin broke under her too sharp nails and Betty gasped at the way it made her feel. She stayed still and felt the blood begin to trickle down her wrist and splash in small droplets on the floor. When she finally felt the pressure to be pink and perfect and Polly, dissipate she stood up, turned on the tap to a lukewarm temperature, let her hand stay under the light pressure of the water until it ran clear._

_Then she turned off the water, put on two bandages, took a deep breath, and allowed herself to go back into the loud world._

**!!!!!!!!!!**

So, she realized she knew what the now was.

The now was a place were Jughead Jones carried bandaids with him at all times and locked himself in the girls bathroom with her. The now was a place where Jughead Jones would hold her and give her his sweatshirt because she got blood on hers. The now was a place where he even trusted her with his name.

She came back to reality when Sweet Pea turned onto Elm St. and asked which one was hers. She pointed to the big white house at the far end of the street and he crawled towards it slowly. He put the car in park right by the truck, and turned to her.

“You know I actually have to follow you to Pop’s, right?”

She took a deep breath and sighed. She thought it was absolutely ridiculous that Jughead was making someone follow her. She wasn’t in any real danger, she was only going to work. 

Where Archie might show up.

_Ah_

“Yes I know, Sweet Pea. I have to take a quick shower and change. Do you want to stay in the car? You’re welcome to come in. Alice isn’t here.”

“Who’s Alice?” Sweet Pea asked, turning to face her.

_Fuck_

“My mother,” Betty said. The tone of her voice must have conveyed something because he didn’t ask anymore questions.

“No, I’ll stay here. I do not need Boss Man trying to throw me across a hallway because I stepped foot in your house.”

“He doesn’t get to make the rules,” Betty protested.

“Coop, when are you going to get it. _Of course he does._

At this he pulled out his phone and ended the conversation. She huffed angrily and said, “well I am making you a milkshake on the house for having to babysit me.”

She slammed the door and heard him yell, “whatever you say, Coop.”

She walked inside and trudged up the stairs to her room. She shut the blinds that faced Archie’s window and the ones leading out to the street, and stripped off the sticky bra that she was wearing underneath Jughead’s sweatshirt. She took a minute to hold it to her face and inhaled. It smelled like him. Like cigarettes and mint and something that smelled vaguely like honey. She put it in the bag she was bringing to Pop’s and took off the rest of her clothes.

When she was in the shower she peeled off the bandages that covered her hands and hissed when they touched the scalding running water. Instead of trying to continue to hurt herself, she pulled them away and just let the hot water clean her. Betty held her breath as she washed her body and felt the soap and water sting her even more. 

When she got out of the shower, she dried her hair quickly and put it in a bun. She changed into her Pop’s uniform and threw a pair of dark jeans into the bag with Jughead’s sweatshirt. Throwing the bag over her shoulder she ran down the stairs, grabbed the keys to the truck and locked the door. She hit the back of Sweet Pea’s car twice to let him know she was ready to go, and hopped in her truck. Pulling out of the driveway she waved and him, and they were off.

When she walked into the diner she felt a sense of familiarity and home. Even though it was work and she would constantly have to deal with asshole jocks and just, people, she still felt at home in the all too greasy smelling, 50s themed diner that she grew up in.

“Hi Pop,” Betty said through the window that led into the kitchen.

“Well hey there, Betty girl! How are you today?”

“Oh you know, my day ends here so I can’t complain.”

“Hmm,” Pop hummed. “And what are you doing with this here fella?”

“Pop, you know I am a gentle giant. I’m one of your most loyal customers!” Sweet Pea was almost offended, but knew that Pop was just genuinely confused.

“I am not judging, Sweet Pea. Just wondering if Betty knows what she’s getting into.”

“Oh I don’t know, Pop. She might be in too deep to go back now,” Sweet Pea said mockingly.

“Betty is right here and Betty can hold her own,” she said, crossing her arms. “Now sit your ass down. I am punching in and then making you a milkshake as payment for _babysitting_ me.”

“Aye aye, Boss Lady.” Then he winked, and Betty felt she’d turn a shade of red she’d never even thought possible.

After she punched in, she turned to Sweet Pea and asked, “double chocolate?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“I do not like this,” she said sighing and looking up at the ceiling.

“I know!” Sweet Pea said joyfully. “That is exactly why I am doing it.”

“Fucking asshole,” she muttered under her breath.

She made him the milkshake and practically slammed it on the counter. He smiled the most innocent and boyish smile she had ever seen and Betty wanted to throw it at him.

_Aaaaaghhh!_

“Okay, okay, I’m done now,” he said. “Tell me about that dark haired friend of yours.”

“Veronica?”

“Veronica,” he said with a nod.

Betty wondered if this was even a good idea. Veronica had a tendency to try to break men’s hearts and Sweet Pea had a tendency to just be an idiot. Betty somehow only because friends with him because she started a sexual innuendo war with him which led her to start to fall—

_No. You are not falling in love with this man do you hear me, Elizabeth Cooper?_

_Crush_ she said back to her inner conscious. Crush on a guy who was his best friend but also his... boss? He did refer to him as “Boss Man” a lot and did whatever Jughead said. But Betty felt it was more a respect thing rather than a fear and subjugation thing. They respected each other. Even if Jughead fucking Jones put him on Betty watch 2017.

“Veronica Lodge is one of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. And I _will_ introduce you to her. But you can’t hurt her, because she will hurt you right back. And you think you have connections in terms of burying a body? Well she has double that amount.”

“She’s a Lodge?” Sweet Pea said, jaw dropped.

Betty gently closed his mouth like Jughead had done to her only a few days prior and said, “yes sunshine, she’s a Lodge.”

“I am already so intrigued.”

“Fuck you,” Betty said lazily.

“Coop do you usually have such a dirty mouth, or is it only around me?”

 _”Anyway,_ Veronica is untouchable. She’s not going to fall for your sweet talk. So please don’t make the “my Pea” joke if you’re genuinely interested. Okay?”

“Right, okay.” He took a sip of his shake and said, “now tell me about you and Andrews. I punched him in the face today so I am owed an explanation.”

She sighed. “I was “in love” with him for years, and he only started to notice me this past summer. At first I was overjoyed and thought that we could be together forever. But then your beanie wearing, asshole friend came into Pop’s and started a staring contest that neither of us were ready for. So at some point I stopped caring for Archie and started seeing him for the chauvinist fuck-face that he is. And apparently he didn’t like that. And didn’t like ‘drunk and pants-less Betty’ sitting on the hood of Jughead’s car last night.”

Sweet Pea said nothing. He pushed his milkshake to the side and put both of his hands on the counter. 

“So it was fine that I punched him?”

“It would have been fine if you killed him.”

Sweet Pea was about to reply when the sound of the door opening stopped him from continuing. Veronica and Cheryl came barreling through, and when they saw Sweet Pea sitting at the counter both of their faces grew dark and stormy. Cheryl marched right up to Betty while Veronica stood in front of Sweet Pea, arms ready to throw punches.

Cheryl slammed her hands on the counter in front of Betty and Veronica started slapping Sweet Pea’s chest and arms. Then they both started screaming different things at the same time. 

C: “Betty what the living fuck have you gotten yourself into!?”

V: “Who the fuck do you think you are? What have you done to Betty?”

C: “What are they getting you into?”

V: “I am dead fucking serious I will bury you I have people in high places!”

C: “We trusted you to tell us first! We said no rumor mill!”

V: “I will kill you if you get her messed up in this shit.”

C: “I thought you said he wasn’t dangerous!”

“I never said he wasn’t dangerous! When the fuck did I ever say that, Cheryl!” Betty screamed back. She started climbing over the counter to get to Cheryl. She had never once insinuated that Jughead wasn’t dangerous, in fact she told them last night when she got back inside that he _was_ dangerous. She had no idea what was going on, but she did expect her friends to have more faith in her. Rumor mill be damned. 

“Everyone just shut the hell up!” Joaquin screamed from behind them.

They must have looked insane. Betty had hoisted herself up so she was sitting on the counter and had her arms on Cheryl’s shoulders, mid shake. Sweet Pea had both of Veronica’s hands in one of his and the other was around her shoulders, so her back was pressed against his chest, restraining her from attacking him again. 

She looked ready to light the whole place on fire. He looked like he was enjoying it too much. 

In all of this, Betty hadn’t heard or seen Toni, Joaquin and Fangs walk in. Everyone went silent. Then Joaquin said, “someone tell me what is going on.”

Veronica, Cheryl and Betty all started talking at the same time:

C: You fucking snakes are—

V: Who the hell do you think— get the fuck off of me you goon!

B: I have absolutely no idea why they are so—

Joaquin yelled over them, “hey! I said one of you!” Then he pointed to Sweet Pea and said, “why are you holding her like that?”

“Because she came here throwing hands and I couldn’t really take her out so I just sorta... grabbed her.” He looked sort of ashamed of himself but mostly smug. Betty could tell that he was highly enjoying this. She knew Veronica would be too if she could get past the fact that she had literally been about to strangle Sweet Pea just moments before.

“Right, okay,” Joaquin sighed. Then he looked at Toni and said, “when is Jug getting here? I have absolutely no idea how to handle this.”

“He said he was right behind—“

“Oh my fucking God that I don’t believe in, what is happening here?” Jughead screamed.

_Jughead Jones, it’s about damn time you got here. Wait... Why are you yelling. And why aren’t you looking at me? I need you to look at me. I can explain this shit-show if you fucking look at me._

“Someone was just about to explain why I found Betty and Sweet Pea in a fight with these girls right here.”

Jughead looked like he was going to kill someone. He looked behind Betty, not even making eye contact, through the window at Pop. 

“Pop, I’m sorry,” he said. “I am going to take my guys outside, do you mind if Betty joins us? I know she’s working but obviously she has explaining to do.”

_I have explaining to do? Are you kidding me? I am not the person you need to be telling to explain. Wait oh my god, Pop. And work. I just watched my best friend try to physically fight a Serpent and me as I threw myself across a counter in order to stop Cheryl from fighting me. Fuck. I am so fired. And fuck you Jughead Jones!_

“No problem, Jughead. The after school rush hasn’t arrived yet, so Betty is good to go.”

“Thank you,” Jughead said. Then he stepped up to the door, turned around and half-yelled, “everyone outside. NOW.”

He held the door open for them all to walk out. Betty was the last reach the door. Jughead had yet to look at her, but as she passed him he reached down and squeezed her hand.

But he still didn’t look at her. Even when she was staring holes into the side of his face.

_You are the king of mixed messages, Jughead Jones. And I am going to kill you._

When they got outside, Jughead stood in between Sweet Pea and Betty. He looked at everyone around him (except Betty) and said, “I need to hear from one of you two,” he said pointing to Cheryl and Veronica. “I need to know why you came into Pop’s and assaulted Betty and Sweet Pea.”

There was no room to question, and even Cheryl looked like she didn’t want to.

“We heard from Archie Andrews that Betty had you guys jump him in the hallway during last period. And like, all he was trying to do was talk to her and you punched him and threw him across the hall. So he came to Veronica and me to let us know that you and Sweet Pea walked out of the girls bathroom right before Betty and when Betty walked out she was wearing a sweatshirt that definitely wasn’t hers. And then he told us that he was really worried about her, and that’s why he was talking to her,” Cheryl said in a rush. 

Jughead looked at her with zero emotion in his face. Sweet Pea had his hands together and was cracking his knuckles. Betty wanted to throw up.

“Okay well first of all, no one punched him,” Jughead said.

“I did,” Sweet Pea growled. “And I’ll fucking do it again.” He started moving forward, but before anyone could do anything, Betty jumped in front of him and shoved him back a few steps.

“Fucking Christ. Okay, I’ll deal with that _and you_ later. Now second of all, the first part of your story is one-hundred percent incorrect.” Cheryl looked like she was about to interject, but Jughead held his hand up saying, “no, it’s my turn. I gave you yours with no interruption. It’s time for you to do the same.”

If this was a situation where Betty’s stomach wasn’t in knots, she would have found his demanding tone incredibly sexy. But now was not the time. He still wasn’t looking at her. She wanted to jump up and down in front of him, cause some type of scene in order to get his attention. 

What the hell did that hand squeeze mean? Why couldn’t he have said something? Why wasn’t he looking at her. It was infuriating, but also terrifying. Was he done with her now? Now that her friends had caused a scene in public about her actions and attacked one of his closest friends and fellow Serpent members? There was no way he was that quick to judge, especially after all of the patience and kindness that Betty had shown him through all of this. 

Maybe he was scared she would run.

She was definitely scared he would run.

If he didn’t talk to her by the end of the night, she was going to show up wherever he worked and demand answers. There wasn’t a chance in hell that she was going to chance, whatever this was, ending on Archie Andrews and his ability to screw everything up.

“Second of all,” Jughead said. His voice snapped her out of her haze of panicked confusion, “Betty didn’t tell us to attack Andrews. In fact if I hadn’t come down the hall when I did, the bastard would have probably killed her. When I got there his hands were on her chest and inching quickly towards her throat. I pulled him off of her and slammed him against the lockers. Then Sweet Pea came down the hall and I asked him to stay with Archie while I helped Betty. What he did during that time was all him and you can interrogate him about it. Though, I suggest not slapping him anymore, Veronica.” He shot her a pointed glare. He stopped and waited for any type of interjection from the girls. When no one said anything he continued on.

“The reason I was in the bathroom with Betty was because...” But then Jughead trailed off. He didn’t know how to go through this without exposing her darkness to Sweet Pea, Fangs, Toni and Joaquin.

“I got dark and twisty,” Betty said looking at Cheryl and Veronica. They said nothing, but both nodded their heads in acknowledgement. At her own voice, Betty could feel Jughead’s head snap in her direction. It seemed like maybe he forgot she was there, and the sound of her voice broke him out of a hypnotic state. She realized it was the first time she’d really said anything since he got there. She could even feel the way his body shifted imperceptibly towards her. It was involuntary. Magnetic.

It gave her hope.

“Sweet Pea met us in there to let us know that Andrews had been taken care of, and then drove Betty back to her house so she could get her car. I asked him to follow her back here in case Andrews tried to show up and then I would meet them here.”

Everyone was silent. Jughead was still staring at the side of Betty’s head, but now she refused to meet his gaze. She felt like if she looked at him and stared into his already dark eyes, she would break down and lose it. And she could not afford to lose it in front of all of them. Maybe Veronica and Cheryl. Hell, maybe even Sweet Pea. But definitely not the others. 

Definitely not him.

When she finally spoke, she was looking at Cheryl and Veronica. “What I don’t understand is how you guys thought I would be siding with Archie after what happened this week. And why if I really thought they would ever put me in any real danger would I still be hanging out with Sweet Pea, let alone walking out of a bathroom with him. Rumor mill be damned.”

They looked stunned. Betty rarely yelled or got mad at them, but her body was vibrating. Jughead took a small sideways step towards her so their arms were touching, but she flinched away.

“I’m sorry Betty,” Veronica said. “We were both just really scared and got even more worried when we couldn’t get in touch with you after school.”

“Plus,” Cheryl said, picking at her nails, “Archie declared ‘war,’ whatever the hell that means, on the Southsiders at school.”

“I would _literally_ kill for a Northsider to start a fight so I would have an excuse to fight back,” Toni spoke up.

“I’d love to punch Andrews again too,” Sweet Pea said.

Cheryl finally gave Sweet Pea a look up and down, checking him out. 

“And excuse me, but I don’t believe we’ve met. You seem to be very invested and involved in my Betty Boop’s life,” Cheryl said, stepping towards Sweet Pea.

Betty groaned, knowing where this was going but still too angry and overwhelmed to try and stop it. She also knew that if Sweet Pea went there, Cheryl would too. And if Cheryl went there well...

“The name’s Sweet Pea, baby, and I bet I could be invested and involved in you too.”

Now Betty really knew what was about to happen, but honestly didn’t want to intervene. Instead she felt Jughead step close to her again, and this time, she let him.

“Oh honey,” Cheryl said, stepping right up to him straightening out his jacket, “I’d really only be interested in one part of your name. And it isn’t the ‘Pea.’” Then she flipped her hair over her shoulder and looked at Toni, extending her hand, “Cheryl Blossom,” she said. 

Toni took her hand and pulled the same thing Jughead did the first day of school. She kissed it and said, “Toni Topaz, and the pleasure is all mine.”

Once again, Cheryl shocked everyone (save for Betty and Veronica) and said, “oh, it will be.”

Everyone laughed and the tension from just a few minutes earlier shattered as fast as a bullet hitting glass. Jughead still didn’t look at her, but she felt him wrap his pinky around hers. 

She exhaled a breath she didn’t know she was holding. He still wasn’t looking at or talking to her, but he was touching her. Which had to mean something.

Right?

They decided to grab a booth in Pop’s and hang out with Betty while she was working. It was as if they all weren’t in a screaming match not twenty minutes before. Sweet Pea had his arm on the back of Veronica’s seat and Cheryl was squeezed into the window, trapped by Jughead. In the booth behind them, Toni and Fangs sat closest to Jughead and Cheryl, while Joaquin sat furthest away.

When Betty walked past Joaquin and towards the counter, he grabbed her arm and said, “I’m sorry for flipping out like that. I thought Jughead was behind me and when he wasn’t I panicked. Because if anything had happened it would have been my head on the line.”

“Joaquin, it’s perfectly okay. What just happened was absolutely ridiculous and I cannot believe we escalated like that so fast. Seriously. We never act like that, and I cannot believe Veronica attacked Sweet Pea like that.”

_Why did you say “like that” so many times?_

“I know for a fact he liked it,” Joaquin whisper-laughed.

“Me too,” she said with a smile. 

Then she threw a glance at Jughead who was laughing at something Sweet Pea said that Betty couldn’t hear. She sighed and her shoulders slumped.

“You okay?” Joaquin asked. When she didn’t answer and her eyes stayed on Jughead, he said, “it’s not reaching his eyes.”

Her head snapped back to Joaquin who was looking at her with a small smile. “What?”

“His laugh, it’s not reaching his eyes.”

 _Oh,_ she thought.

She squeezed his shoulder and walked away. She started to write down everything they had wanted when she felt Jughead approach. She wasn’t looking at him, nor was she even looking in the direction that she knew he had come from. She just knew it was him.

Magnetic.

“Can I get an additional strawberry milkshake?”

 _Oh so you’re speaking to me_ Betty thought, not turning around. She wanted so desperately to turn around and curse him out. But then she remembered the little game they had started to play, and knew he freaked out any time she didn’t respond to him.

“Betty Cooper,” he growled. She still said nothing, so he said, “do not make me come back there, because I will. I really fucking will.” When she still didn’t respond she heard him mutter under his breath, “the shit you make me do, Betty Cooper.”

Before she knew it he was behind the counter and pulling her by her hand. When they were out from view of their friends, he pressed up against the counter and put his arms around each side of her waist. Their faces were so close that she could feel his breath on hers. The smell of the chocolate shake he was drinking was still on his mouth but she could still smell the cigarette he smoked before sitting back down.

“Betty Cooper. Please talk to me.” He was begging. Perfect girl-next-door Betty Cooper had turned the angry and brooding leader of the Southside Serpents into a begging teenage boy.

“Jughead Jones,” she finally said. She felt his body relax at the sound of her voice. He pressed his forehead against hers and exhaled his sweet smelling breath against her face. 

“Betty Cooper,” he breathed, “you are making me want to do two very different things. None of which I can actually do here.”

“Oh?” She asked. He moved his head so his cheek was against hers. She braced herself for the words she knew were coming.

“The first thing I want to do is fucking kill you because you got yourself in a situation that could have escalated so quickly that even I wouldn’t have been able to bring back down.” 

She did not think that was where this was going to go.

He was almost yelling, but brought himself back down. Then he placed a kiss on her jaw and Betty shivered.

“And the second?” She asked breathlessly.

“The second is something I can’t do in front of our friends because we would get arrested for public indecency.” 

That, she was hopefully expectant of.

He placed another kiss on the underside of her jaw and said, “you scared the hell out of me, Betty Cooper.”

“Why,” she moaned. His head snapped up and his eyes went incredibly dark incredibly fast. 

“Do not,” he growled, “make that noise in public. Or I _really_ won’t be able to control myself and I cannot stand the idea that our first kiss was at the diner with our friends twenty feet away.”

Again, hopefully expectant turned impatient expectant.

She froze and pulled further away from him. “You want to kiss me?” Betty asked.

“Oh Betty Cooper,” he said lustfully, “I want to do so much more than kiss you.”

Then he pulled away completely and un-trapped her. He walked back in the direction of their friends and called behind him, “don’t forget that strawberry shake!”

* * *

_Why can I hear screaming,_ Jughead thought as he approached the diner. Him, Toni, Joaquin and Fangs went to Pop’s after a quick phone call with Tall Boy in the school parking lot. The three of them went ahead of him as he finished his cigarette in the Jeep.

He thought Betty Cooper was going to die today. He saw someone twice her size begin to wrap his hands around her chest and move upward towards her neck, with the actual intention of hurting her beyond repair.

It reminded him of the dream. Only this was a situation where he could do something about it.

 _Except you fucking froze._

He didn’t get there fast enough to stop the blood from running down her hands. Didn’t get there fast enough to get a chance to get his own hands on the bastard himself. Didn’t get there fast enough to ease the panic that he saw in her eyes.

He had no idea what happened to Archie as Sweet Pea took over when Jughead went into the bathroom with Betty.

Betty.

Betty Fucking Cooper.

Jughead hadn’t been scared of anything in a long time, and somehow over the course of just a few days he became absolutely terrified of the small blonde spitfire whose existence was once only the girl he liked to look at while she worked her shift at Pop’s.

Now she was so much more.

So as he walked up to the front door of Pop’s he heard what could only be Joaquin yelling through the doors.

That’s when Jughead got really concerned. 

Because Joaquin never yelled. And when he did, well...

Shit was hitting the fan.

What he saw was what could be construed as someone’s worst nightmare. Sweet Pea had Veronica Lodge in some sort of vice grip with her arms in one hand and his other around her shoulders, holding her still despite her obvious struggles. Betty had climbed over the counter and was assaulting Cheryl. 

And Joaquin was still yelling. 

He quickly pushed open the door and surveyed the damage. What he was most concerned about in that moment was Pop staring at them like they had all just grown extra heads. Then he was concerned about Sweet Pea potentially hurting Veronica, because he honestly couldn’t handle _another_ law suit. Then he was worried about the fact that Joaquin was yelling and wondered what he saw leading up to this point. 

Those were the things he was concerned with. All superficial in the end and only a minor inconvenience to manage and handle once he had all of the information. 

What he was most terrified was Betty Cooper. Because every time he was near her, she was thirty seconds away from death or injury and every time he found her it took another ten years off his life.

 _Betty “Middle Name I Do Not Know” Cooper, you will actually be the death of me. If I wasn’t so hell bent on keeping you safe and, I don’t know, just a person, I would have_ _maybe_ walked away by now.

He knew he wouldn’t. He couldn’t. She was inevitable.

He couldn’t look at her. He felt that if he did he would lose it and not be able to control his emotions. He wanted to lock her in a room for 24 hours just so he knew she was safe that whole time.

And maybe explore some of his wildest fantasies too.

When he got everyone to walk outside, she exited last. He so wanted to hug her and tell her it would be okay, but the most he could manage was a small squeeze of her hand. 

He stood in between her and Sweet Pea the entire time. Then he got to the point in the story where he had to defend the fact that no one punched Andrews.

“Okay well first of all, no one punched him,” Jughead said.

“I did,” Sweet Pea growled. “And I’ll fucking do it again.” He started moving forward, but before anyone could do anything, Betty jumped in front of him and in front of Pea, shoving him back a few steps.

_Jesus Christ._

It might have been one of the hottest things he’d ever seen. Tiny, blonde and probably still hungover Betty Cooper went toe-to-toe with one of the most dangerous guys he had ever met.

And won. 

She stayed next to him, now creating a barrier between them. Every time she felt him start to move, she just slightly pushed him back. He made a mental note to ask her what that was about. He couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of their relationship. Were they more than friends? Or was their friendship based in something that Jughead could only hope was about him.

“Fucking Christ,” he said sighing. “Okay, I’ll deal with that, _and you,_ later.

When all explanations and sexual innuendos were given, Jughead pushed himself closer to Betty so their arms were touching. He felt her relax into just slightly and knew that everything would be okay. 

He saw her talking to Joaquin about something when they all sat down. It filled his stomach with hot lead. He hadn’t spoken to her yet. And same with her. But his was out of fear of not being able to handle the situation if he stared into her eyes and read her fear and pain.

Hers was out of pure anger towards him. 

_Fuck you, Betty Cooper! Just let me keep you safe._

He followed her up to the front, and stood on the other side saying, “Can I get an additional strawberry milkshake?”

She ignored him. Didn’t even flinch at the sound of his voice. She had known he was there and didn’t even move.

_Magnetic_

He started to panic. Had he ruined it forever? All he needed to do was send her a look, let her know things would be okay.

But he didn’t know if his eyes would have conveyed that in this situation.

“Betty Cooper,” he growled. She still said nothing, and when she didn’t he said, “do not make me come back there, because I will. I really fucking will.” He wasn’t kidding. _All I want to do is keep you safe and hold you in my arms, but no. You have to be difficult and stubborn as all fucking hell._

When she still didn’t respond or show any interest in the conversation he muttered “the shit you make me do, Betty Cooper,” and walked straight behind the counter. There was a small pillar that separated the back of the counter and the rest of the diner.

A blind spot.

He stepped up behind her and pulled her hand over to the spot. She was effectively shocked when he spun her around and pressed her against the counter. Their friends couldn’t see them, so he put his hands around her waist.

_Betty Cooper, are you aware that you are a witch?_

His face was so close to hers that he could taste the strawberry milkshake he had ordered for himself... well, for them. _When had she taken a sip of it? When had she made it? Why didn’t he hear her?_ He worried that he smelled like the cigarette that he smoked before and after what he might be calling “In Which Sweet Pea is Taken Down by two Tiny Girls.”

But she seemed to be as drawn to him as he her.

He resorted to begging, because he wasn’t going through the rest of this night without hearing her voice. Her voice so it was directed towards him.

“Betty Cooper. Please talk to me.”

It was the longest ten-seconds of his life.

“Jughead Jones,” she finally said. His body relaxed at the sound of her voice. He needed to be closer. He had spent far to long of the god-forsaken afternoon too far enough from her. He pressed his forehead against hers and felt his skin and teeth grow tight as her body pressed harder into his. He was drinking her like she was the most pure water on earth and he had just exited a desert.

“Betty Cooper,” he breathed trying to control his thoughts, considering the majority of his blood wasn’t in his brain, “you are making me want to do two very different things to you. None of which I can actually do here.”

“Oh?” She asked. He moved his head so his cheek was against hers. Her skin was warm and soft and perfect. He moved his hands up so that one was gently resting on her waist and the other still kept her pressed against the counter. 

“The first thing I want to do is fucking kill you because you got yourself in a situation that could have escalated so quickly that even I wouldn’t have been able to bring back down.” He felt like screaming. Had Betty been any other person, he wasn’t sure he would have been able to stop Sweet Pea from doing anything other than grabbing her friend. And if Betty were any other person, none of them would fucking be here. He took a deep breath and calmed back down. 

_I need to make up for the time I spent not touching her,_ he thought. Then he placed a kiss on her jaw and Betty shivered.

_Please stop squirming Betty Cooper, because if you move too much I might end up doing something that I don’t want to do in front of everyone..._

“And the second?” She asked breathlessly.

“The second is something I can’t do in front of our friends because we would get arrested for public indecency.” He exhaled these words in a rush and placed another kiss on the underside of her jaw. He wanted to know where his chaste kisses effected her most. He wanted to know what is would do to her if he did more than just chastely kiss her. 

So he kept her body close to his and had all of the intention to say something sexual, something that might make her shiver against his body again. Instead he said said, “you scared the hell out of me, Betty Cooper.”

“Why,” she moaned. 

_Oh what the ever loving fucking hell kind of noise was that, Betty Cooper? What else can I do to you to make that noise again? I will do anything._

So at the sound of her moan his head snapped up and couldn’t help but _feel_ his eyes as they went incredibly dark and incredibly intense. 

“Do not,” he growled, “make that noise in public. Or I _really_ won’t be able to control myself and I cannot stand the idea that our first kiss was at the diner with our friends twenty feet away.”

_But please make that noise whenever we’re alone, especially if your legs are thrown over my shoulders and my head is in between your thighs._

She froze and pulled further away from him. “You want to kiss me?” Betty asked.

_Is that even a question? I think I’ve wanted to kiss you from the first time we locked eyes, even before you fell into Sweet Pea’s lap..._

“Oh Betty Cooper,” he said, “I want to do so much more than kiss you.”

Then he pulled away completely and un-trapped her. It was the hardest thing he had ever done. He wanted to stay fully immeshed in her. She owned his soul now, and he wasn’t about to just let that go.

He walked back in the direction of their friends and called behind him, “don’t forget that strawberry shake!”

Their friends conversations had gone on in his absence, but Toni had stolen his spot next to Cheryl, so Jughead was left to slide in next to Fangs.

They were eating their food and talking about some guy that Joaquin had been staring at since they got to Pop’s and Jughead wondered if he could ditch his friends and go hang out at the counter with Betty like he usually did.

He was used to having to share her attention with the other random Pop’s patrons, because it meant he could stare at her without the fear of someone calling him out for it. With everyone there, he couldn’t just spend hours looking at her and studying her, because someone would notice.

That’s not to say that they didn’t notice already, but he didn’t know how much they noticed. He didn’t think they saw the intensity of their staring, but he knew they knew it was there.

“So Betty Cooper, huh?” Joaquin asked with a nudge to his ribs.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jughead said, biting back a grin. 

But he did.

Betty walked over and handed him his milkshake, (the one she already started sipping), but walked away before he could say anything. She went and stood next to Veronica and Sweet Pea. She grabbed Sweet Pea’s shoulders and shook hard, laughing at something he said. He smiled at her behind her back as he sipped the milkshake he was about to give back to her.

The scene at play was an image that he didn’t think he would ever get used to seeing. Dark and dangerous Southside Serpents enamored and wrapped around the fingers of starry eyed and beautifully kind Northside girls.

Himself included.

Betty walked back up to the counter and Jughead followed her with the half-finished shake. She faced him as he slid into the seat across from where she stood. He took a sip of the milkshake and then handed it to her. She leaned across the counter and took it from him. Placing the straw in her mouth she arched a brow at him.

“Are you still only sharing these with me so that our lips are one second closer to touching?”

“Betty Cooper, currently our lips are one second closer to touching, milkshake be damned.”

She visibly shivered at this, and he took it as an opportunity to lean further across the counter, placing his head in his right hand and reaching his other towards her right. She subconsciously leaned in as well, and just when their heads were about to meet, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He thought he could ignore it, but it buzzed again.

And again.

And... again.

“Half a moment,” he whispered. Pulling his phone out of his pocket with his right hand and kept his other hand in hers. 

**TB— 5:17pm:** He’s here. 

The blood drained from Jughead’s face and his whole body turned to ice. _Can I just get one day where I’m not fucking worried about this girl!?_

“FUCK!” He screamed. The whole diner went quiet and his friends all looked over at him. His fists were under his had, pulling at his hair. He could hear Betty trying to say something to him, but she sounds a million miles away and swimming underwater. They all walked up to him, Sweet Pea trying to grab his arms and move him through and out the door. 

But once again he froze. 

Freezing wasn’t something he did before Betty Cooper.

He felt the presence of everyone around him like a dull hum, like they were all on one frequency and he was on another. It was terrifying. He couldn’t figure out why those two words had rooted him in place. 

He couldn’t figure out why he was feeling this way.

He snapped out of it and felt the crumpled receipt paper being shoved repeatedly against his fingers. He looked down and found a the small piece of paper tucked under his index finger. He took to unfolding it for what felt like forever, and saw one singular word written in dainty script.

_Go._

Jughead whipped his head up and met her eyes. She nodded slightly and squeezed his hand. He took a deep breath, pushed the milkshake in her direction, and said, “I’ll be back before you get off.”

He turned around so his back was to her and said to Sweet Pea, Toni, Fangs and Joaquin, “he’s there.”

“So we gotta move,” Sweet Pea said with force.

“We’re moving,” Jughead nodded.

“Well ladies,” Sweet Pea said, throwing both arms around Veronica and Cheryl, “if you ever want some more of this Pea, you can find me at the Whyte Wyrm on the Southside.” Then he walked over to Betty and kissed her cheek, “thanks, Coop.”

Jughead could see out of the corner of his eye that Betty slapped Sweet Pea across the chest at his display of affection. All around them he could see his friends, old and new, hugging and saying goodbye, and all Jughead could do was confirm a time. 

He had gotten to the door and was holding it open for everyone, when he heard Betty call, 

“You have to say it.”

It took him a moment to figure out what she was talking about, but when he did, he smiled so big he thought his face would crack.

“Ten o’clock?” Jughead asked.

“Ten o’clock,” she confirmed with a nod and a smile of her own.

“Well okay,” he responded. “Until then, Betty Cooper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So obviously our little gang is slowly coming together and becoming a group. I love feisty Betty and I hope you all are enjoying her too.
> 
> Also! Tuesday’s chapter is still going to be posted before 4pm!
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	6. If I Told You That A Flower Bloomed In A Dark Room, Would You Trust It?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Wait,” Jughead said, pulling him back down.
> 
> “What’s up, Boss Man?” Sweet Pea asked.
> 
> Jughead took a deep breath and pulled the bottle of tequila out from behind the bar. He poured them both another shot and lifted his glass towards Pea, who did the same. They threw them both back and slammed their glasses on the table, flipping them upside down as they did.
> 
> Jughead took a deep breath and asked, “What’s going on with you and Betty Cooper?”
> 
> “You think I’m encroaching on your girl, Boss Man?”
> 
> “No,” Jughead said. 
> 
> _Yes._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> Two in one week?
> 
> Woah. Okay so last chapter was a little comedic relief to the coming chapter. 
> 
> Which is angsty
> 
> As all fuck.
> 
> I love you!
> 
> Disclaimer— I do not own these characters, they belong to the CW.  
> This is un-betaed so all mistakes are mine!

_Poetic Justice— Kendrick Lamar (feat. Drake)_

_You scared the hell out of me, Betty Cooper._

What the fuck did that mean?

The whole diner had cleared out save for Cheryl and Veronica. They were sitting at the counter trying to wrap their heads around what just happened.

“So you and Jughead Jones are thirty seconds away from fucking it seems,” Cheryl smirked. 

“It’s true,” Veronica laughed. Betty was smiling at them. Maybe now they understood the appeal of the Serpent jacket. Maybe now they understood why Betty was so drawn to Jughead. Maybe now they could leave her to her thoughts and emotions.

“We’ll you’re the one who was two seconds away from swallowing Sweet Pea with your eyes!” Betty yelled with a giggle. 

“I was not!” Veronica shot back. Cheryl snapped her head up and laughed as well. 

“You might as well have been,” she said. “But don’t worry, he was looking at you the same way. Though I think his was more of a ‘I want to throw you over my shoulders and run with you’ type of feeling.”

Veronica turned bright red and tried to turn the attention back to Betty. “Tell me everything there is no know about him. He obviously cares about you. And not in a romantic way, but it’s like he cares so much about you and just wants to be your friend.”

“Well he is my friend,” Betty said, “and I’ll have you know V, he was asking about you before you came in and started hitting the shit out of him. He was saying that had you been anyone else he may have hit back. Not hard, obviously, he doesn’t believe in any form of violence against women. However, he moved towards you like he wanted to attack, and that’s why he grabbed you instead.”

“I have absolutely no objection to the grabbing and I would like to know everything that you said.”

“I told him that he needs to be careful because you break hearts and he’s an idiot.”

“Hashtag Truth,” Cheryl said, not looking up from her phone. 

“But really B, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions and storming the castle here. And I am sorry for how out of hand it got.”

“I’m not,” Cheryl called from across the counter again and definitely still looking at her phone.

“Cher?” Betty questioned, “whatcha doing?”

“Oh nothing, sweet Betty Boop. Just texting my new friend, small, pink and sexy. Thanks for the introduction by the way!”

“How is it that you two attack my and my friend and get relationships out of it?”

“No one is in a _relationship,_ Betty. We are just able to have an open conversation with the people we met today.” Then she muttered under her breath, “unlike some people I know.”

Betty heard her, but she decided to pretend that she didn’t. With Cheryl it was easiest to move on from something small than try to fight it. There was no way of knowing what kind of mood she was in, and if she was in a fighting mood, Betty would lose.

And Betty didn’t like to lose.

_But she’s not wrong. Some how over the course of a physical altercation of French fries my friends were able to talk to each other more than Jughead Jones and I have spoken in forever. Why is that? Why was it so noticeable? All I had wanted to do was just, talk to him. Instead I’ve been met with acts of sexual frustration and little to know words. Maybe he doesn’t feel the way I feel. Maybe for him it’s just sex. Just lust. Just another situation in which I am falling—crushing on a guy who only wants one thing from me._

Betty was so lost in her inner monologue that she didn’t hear Cheryl and Veronica trying to get their attention so they could pay the check. Betty knew that the boys probably protested an obscene amount but they had already gave Betty their cards when they walked in.

As per usual, Jughead left a twenty for the milkshake that Betty never charged him for, and spent the rest of her evening thinking about the money while she finished the strawberry shake.

What the hell was it and that strawberry shake?

She wasn’t going to lie and say that it wasn’t incredibly weird that he tried to get her mouth on his via a plastic straw that had been chewed on. It was the weirdest thing that someone had ever done, yet somehow one of the most attractive.

_Elizabeth, are you having sexual fantasies about a straw right now?_

_No!_ She yelled back at her inner-conscious.

The girls walked out, kissing Betty’s cheeks and telling her to get home safe. She nodded and hugged them tightly. Suddenly the whole day came crashing back down to her, and she had to steady her breathing in order to not break down.

_Please don’t cry, please don’t cry._

She managed to pull herself together by the time they let go and waved as they walked out of the door. The diner was empty at that point, so Betty just had to wait and clean until Jughead got there around 9:30.

9:42 rolled around and there was no text or sign of Jughead Jones. He either just had something he needed to quickly deal with, or he had run.

Of course, Betty assumed he had ran.

She remembered that Sweet Pea said they could visit him at the “Whyte Wyrm” on the Southside, and that that was where he worked.

Betty figured Jughead was there too. 

When her shift ended she threw on her change of clothes (including Jughead’s sweatshirt), punched out, and walked out the door. She got in the truck sat in the front seat for ten minutes, weighing the pros and cons and storming a gang hangout at ten-o’clock at night.

Pros: she would be able to confront Jughead.

Cons: she would have to confront Jughead.

_And he did make a whole big deal out of you wanting to get ice cream on the Southside this late,_ her inner conscious reasoned with her. 

So she took a deep breath and started the car with every intention to head home and ignore him for the rest of forever.

But then she remembered that he still never talked to her about why he wasn’t looking at her, and ran. Betty made a left out of the parking lot towards the Southside instead of a right towards home and thought to herself,

_Yeah, no. Fuck you Jughead Jones._

* * *

The ride back to the Wyrm was one of the slowest in Jughead’s life. It wasn’t that the car was going slow, because it wasn’t, but his brain had turned into a panic room where all of the walls were padded and no matter how loud you screamed, no one could hear you.

That’s what Jughead’s brain was.

He could vaguely here the sounds of his friends talking around him, but he couldn’t distinguish all of the voices. All he could do was crumple and un-crumple the piece of paper that Betty had given him. Back at Pop’s, he felt himself crumbling under the weight of what happened that day from Archie, to the fight at Pop’s to now this, and in that moment couldn’t find the strength to pull it together and organize people. 

Thankfully, Sweet Pea had been there to start moving out, but if he hadn’t been, Jughead didn’t know how fast they would have gotten out of there.

However, Sweet Pea was only there for Betty, so maybe they wouldn’t have been there at all. 

At this Jughead remembered how easy Betty and Sweet Pea’s relationship seemed, even though they had only known each other a few days. He wanted to know if there was a secret to it, because if there was, Jughead wanted it.

Actually, he needed it.

_You need to talk to Pea about his thing with Betty before the night is over. And before it ruins your friendship because you’re worried he’s going to want to be with the girl you’re... obsessed...? With.”_

They pulled up to the Wyrm and everyone jumped out. Sweet Pea drove Jughead over in his own car with Fangs in the back and Joaquin and Toni took his car. At some point in the drive, Pea slipped on his brass knuckles, and Fangs pulled the switchblade he usually kept in his boot and had it tucked in the sleeve of his jacket. Toni’s hair was no longer flowing and down, but in a braid then went far down her back. She lifted her jacket to show that she had her piece on her. Joaquin did the same. Jughead shrugged, straightened his beanie and started to talk.

“Earlier today, before I got to Pop’s, I had a talk with Tall Boy about the fact that Malachi is still trying to move in on the Northside, and the school specifically. From what little intel we have, Malachi already has someone who goes to Riverdale who he is trying to recruit to gather intel and bring it back to him. The guy who is in my office right now is the middle man. We need to shut it down,” Jughead said this with a combination of every negative emotion known to man. Everyone was silent, taking in what he had said. 

Then Fangs surprised them by asking, “any means necessary?”

All heads snapped to Fangs and then back to Jughead. Jughead took a moment to think about this and then said, “if we think it’s going to get to _that,_ then we’ll just keep him until he talks. Malachi either sent him on a fools errand, walking in like we wouldn’t know who he was, or Malachi knew we would know exactly who he is. We’ll see how it plays out.”

“So basically we walk in, get the information Tall Boy has, and then decide if we know who this kid is or not? That seems risky,” Joaquin said a bit worriedly.

“Joaquin, we’re seventeen and eighteen year-olds who run a gang and carry guns and brass knuckles to algebra class. What the fuck isn’t risky these days?” Sweet Pea yelled.

It was the comedic relief they needed before walking into one of the circles of hell. Jughead didn’t know how to better explain their lives than Sweet Pea just had. They were basically children who ran a gang and beat the shit out of people in order to keep Riverdale clean. They were like some sadistic form of Robin-Hoods. Beat up the bad to protect to innocent. 

That analogy helped Jughead sleep at night.

“Okay,” Jughead said, “we’re moving.”

//////////

_Crack._

The sound of flesh hitting bone and more flesh was something that Jughead was unfortunately too comfortable with hearing. The guy Malachi sent was already to the chair in the back of Jughead’s office when they got there. Sweet Pea was throwing punches to his gut each time he asked a question and the guy cried, “I don’t know.”

They had chosen to pretend that they didn’t know who he was and who had sent him. It meant that when they either released or kept him that Malachi wouldn’t come looking, because he would assume he was dead. There would be no phone call to Malachi. No retaliation. Just another one of his men going up in smoke.

Until they inevitably released him and it would be too late because Malachi would realize his whole plan would go up in smoke. The Serpents would know the whole plan. They would always be one step ahead.

They had Tall Boy lock the door of the office, so that when they got there, Sweet Pea kicked it open and terrified the guy even more. He was interrogating him with stupid questions that could easily be answered with “I don’t know” so Pea would have a chance to start hitting him and showing him no mercy before the real questions started. 

The guy was sitting at the back of the office with his chair close to wall, so even if he did slip his holds, he’d have to go through Toni, Fangs, Sweet Pea and Jughead before he even got to the door where Joaquin was standing, gun casually thrown up and down in his right hand. The safety was on, of course. But this guy didn’t need to know that.

They had obviously done this way too many times.

After Sweet Pea got as much as he could out of the guy, it was Toni and Fangs’s turn. They were the best at getting contact information out of people. Fangs opened his knife and started twirling it around his fingers. He stayed a good ten-feet away from the guy to give him some sense of power because Toni, a girl had no visible weapon on her. Toni got all too close to the guy and seductively breathed her questions into his face. When he didn’t answer in a sufficient way, Fangs threw his knife to the right of his face, making the guy flinch and literally start to cry. Toni didn’t wait a second before pulling the knife out of the wall and pressing it up against his neck. Then she said quietly, “I asked you what your name was.”

And that’s how they got Dorian’s name.

While everyone (including Dorian) was focused on the actions at hand, Joaquin was quickly, quietly and manually redoing the lock, so that when they left after getting his name, they could lock the door behind them, insuring that he wasn’t going anywhere.

They walked over to the bar where Toni started pouring them all shots of tequila. “To Dorian,” she said.

“To Dorian,” they repeated after her, throwing the shot back. Fangs, Toni, and Joaquin all walked over to the pool tables in the back, and Sweet Pea started to follow them. 

“Wait,” Jughead said, pulling him back down.

“What’s up, Boss Man?” Sweet Pea asked.

Jughead took a deep breath and pulled the bottle of tequila out from behind the bar. He poured them both another shot and lifted his glass towards Pea, who did the same. They threw them both back and slammed their glasses on the table, flipping them upside down as they did.

Jughead took a deep breath and asked, “What’s going on with you and Betty Cooper?”

“You think I’m encroaching on your girl, Boss Man?”

“No,” Jughead said. 

_Yes._

“Well, she’s probably the strongest person I’ve ever met. And I might mean physically too. She could surely take Toni. Maybe Fangs and Joaquin too. Definitely Fangs, actually. But she held me back from attacking someone today, at that’s badass and incredible.

“But if you’re asking me if I have feelings for her, I can assure you that I don’t. And honestly, even if I did, she’s so far gone for you that I wouldn’t even stand a chance. It’s actually nice of you to ask, but no. I do not have feelings for Coop. I just like being the guy she can hug when she’s freaking out until she can hug you.”

“She doesn’t want to hug me,” Jughead said as a reflex.

“Dude, and I don’t even call you dude, that girl went to the mat _against me,_ to keep you from freaking out. She wants you. She’d fight a two-hundred pound gang—”

“Why are you so hung up on her fighting you today?”

“Because she didn’t even really fight me. But she fought _for you._ And that means something.” Sweet Pea stood up and patted Jughead on the back.

“For what its worth, Boss Man, I think she’d make you happy if you let her.” He started to walk away and over to the pool tables. He turned around and said, “and think about it, I’ve been throwing sexual advances at her for the past week, and through all of it, she’s only ever been staring at you.”

Jughead gave a real smile at this. He stood up and grabbed all of the glasses off the bar. He brought them back to the dish pit and then headed over to the pool tables to play a few rounds before it was time to get more information out of Dorian.

* * *

When Betty walked into the Wyrm, she realized that she obviously stood out like a sore thumb. Yeah, she was wearing all black and even left her bag in the car so as not to cause any suspicion, but her hair was actually so bright and blond that it was a beacon that yelled, “look at me! I don’t belong here!”

She walked up to the bar and saw Toni standing behind it. Her first thought at this was _Is she even old enough to be serving?_

She walked across the room, looking straight ahead. Toni caught her eye and did a double take. Her face went from questioning to panicked, but she couldn’t do anything about it because she was helping customers. Betty looked around, trying to find Jughead but didn’t see him anywhere.

_Maybe he’s not here,_ Betty thought. She kept looking around the bar, and she would have missed him walking out if she didn’t know what to look for. Joaquin slipped out of a back office and walked over to Toni. Betty knew that as soon as Joaquin reached Toni, that she would tell him that she was there.

And she couldn’t have that. 

Pulling the hood up on Jughead’s sweatshirt, she walked quickly towards the door of the office without looking in Toni or Joaquin’s direction. She hoped that concealing her hair would give her enough time to reach the back without arousing suspicion. She didn’t know why she knew that going back there was a bad idea, but she also knew that was where Jughead was.

And that was where she needed to be. 

She reached the door and went to twist the knob, but the door had been knocked off of its hinges, so she pushed it open angrily yelling,

“Jughead Jones, why the fuck didn’t you—”

But then Betty found out why Jughead didn’t answer any of her texts. Why he didn’t come to Pop’s. Why he panicked before he left.

Jughead “strawberry-milkshake-sharing-hoodie-giving-bandaid-carrying-hand-holding-breakfast-bringing” Jones, was holding a gun to a dark haired man’s temple.

He spun so rapidly that Betty thought he would fall over. In his turn he flipped the safety back on on the gun and dropped it to the floor. He ran over to her, shielding her from the scene at hand.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” He screamed at her. Betty couldn’t speak. Her voice was gone. She just looked at his angry face and tried to turn away, but he wouldn’t let her. “Someone get her the fuck out of here or I swear to the God I don’t believe in, someone else will die I fucking swear.”

Sweet Pea came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her away from Jughead. 

“Don’t let her leave. Do not let her out of your sight,” he directed at Sweet Pea. He didn’t respond verbally, but Betty was sure that he nodded. “And you,” he said to Betty, “do not fucking leave.” 

This time, Betty nodded and she was pulled away from him. She went numb as Sweet Pea removed her from the office. Joaquin was standing at the door with a screw driver in hand. Sweet Pea stopped and Joaquin’s face went white.

“Am I going to die?” Joaquin asked.

“No,” Betty said as Sweet Pea said, “potentially.”

Sweet Pea led her by the arm out of the back office and up to the bar. Upon seeing the look on her face, Toni made Betty a drink and said, “I’m cutting you off here, not trying to make Boss Man any angrier.” Betty nodded silently and took a small sip of her drink. She tasted rum sliding down the back of her throat. It filled her body with a heat that she didn’t know was missing, and she continued to sip on it for the next hour.

She was still numb. She still couldn’t talk. 

What the honest fuck had she just seen?

And why did it feel so familiar?

She was questioning the idea of the now and how it might change when Jughead walked out from the back office. He stood stark still for a moment, scanning the crowd. Betty knew he was looking for her, so she left her almost empty drink on the bar, got off her stool, and started over to him. She was not even halfway across the room when his eyes snapped to hers. They were filled with a combination of emotions. Exhaling, she saw a flicker of relief behind them. 

But then they glazed back over into anger.

“Hi,” Betty said quietly. It was the first words she had spoken since she ran into the back office and started to yell at him. She took a step towards him, and when he didn’t flinch away she moved to stand directly to his left. Her shoulder brushing the bottom of his bicep, making her realize how tall he was. They had stood just like this earlier that day, but it finally registered how much bigger than her that he actually was. If it hadn’t been for Toni’s rum and whatever, she might have been standing much more rigid. She was about to look back up at him, when he murmured, 

“Why are you here?” It was less of a question and more of an angry statement. She still couldn’t feel his gaze on her, so she continued to look at the room. She gathered her thoughts (and most likely, her courage) and responded with a simple,

“I wanted to thank you. And I wanted to yell at you. Because I thought you hated me after today. I thought you weren’t coming back because of all that happened.” 

At her words, she felt an imperceptible shift in his demeanor. While his body remained tense, he turned ever so slightly towards her, his left hand brushing her hip. 

“I could never hate you, Betty Cooper. But as you could see, _which if I had more time I would yell at you for seeing,_ I was in a situation where I couldn’t text or call you back. I don’t even know where my phone is.”

She wanted to shiver in response to his touch, and his words, but remained still with eyes ahead. Betty wondered if that was going to be the end of the conversation, if she was just supposed to get in her car and drive back to Elm St like she hadn’t just seen Jughead holding a gun to someone’s head. It wasn’t until she felt him fully turn towards her that she began to pivot in his direction. His hand gently came to rest on her neck, his thumb brushing the underside of her cheek, and nudged her head in his direction.

Betty met his gaze and gasped slightly. He looked in pain, like her being there was causing him physical pain, and she wanted to heal it.

But she knew he wasn’t going to let her leave.

She quickly bit her lip in order to cover up any form of shock and stared right back. 

“Betty Cooper, I don’t want you to leave, but I also don’t want to control you. I don’t want you to stay because I am ordering you to. You aren’t a Serpent, and I can’t control what you do. But I would feel better knowing that you were here and safe and that I could see you when this night was over and that we could talk. You deserve an explanation. But I just don’t have the time right now to give you one,” he said. “Please. Please don’t leave yet, Betty Cooper.”

He was begging. If they were in a different place, she would wrap her arms around him. But all she could say was, “of course I will stay. And you can even demand in this moment. Order them to do things if you know it will keep me safe,” she said. Then she continued with, “on the condition that I get an explanation.”

“Anything,” he said with an exhale. “Anything you want I will give you. Just please, stay.”

She bit her lip again and nodded. He almost smiled, but she could still see the panic and worry in his eyes.

“Boss man,” Fangs said, walking towards them. Betty found herself moving back to his left side. Only this time, Jughead carefully pushed her behind him. It was protective in a way that made Betty’s body warm up like she was bathing in a bottle of that rum and whatever. She looked up at Jughead expectantly, but couldn’t see his eyes, only the degree at which his jaw tensed at the sound of Fangs’ voice. 

Fangs also went white. With a quick head nod at Betty, he said, “sorry to interrupt,” shifting from one foot to the next, “but Jug, he’s talking. Pea told me Betty was here, and I didn’t—“ 

He was cut short by Jughead spinning quickly to face Betty. The momentum almost sent her flying backwards, but he caught her by the waist, righting her and taking a step back. She scanned his face for any sort of emotion, and found his eyes had become dark, like the ocean right before a storm. Biting her lip again, she waited for him to speak.

“Have Pea take you upstairs. I have an apartment here. Make yourself comfortable, eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want, I don’t care. But do not,” he said, taking a deep breath while closing his eyes, “do not under any circumstance come back down those stairs until I get you. Do you understand me Betty Cooper?” 

“You live here?” Betty asked. It was the only real thing she could register.

“Betty Cooper. That is not the point!”

“I’m sorry! But that is ridiculous! Why do you live above a bar?”

“Is this really really the time to be having this argument?” Fangs interjected.

“Yes!” Betty yelled as Jughead yelled right back, “damn it, Cooper! This is actually not the time and I swear to god I will explain later but do you understand? Stay upstairs and do not come back down.” His voice wavered on pleading, so she nodded. He exhaled sharply, and put his hands back on her neck. “I’ll be up as soon as I can, okay? Don’t go anywhere.” 

“You have made your point, Beanie Boy. I will not go anywhere.”

He exhaled a sharp laugh and started to lower his hands, but stopped himself, untucking her bottom lip from her teeth, and smoothing over the ridges that were left with his thumb. Then he turned to Fangs said, “watch her,” and like that, he moved towards the back of the bar. 

As he walked away, Betty couldn’t help but to analyze him. He looked like, well like a snake. Dark, quiet, and ready to snap. People instinctively moved out of his way. He never once broke stride or looked back over his shoulder. He shut the door to the back office behind him, and once again, Betty was left alone. 

Well, not entirely. Fangs stood there looking at her, still moving nervously. It was obvious to Betty that whatever Jughead was dealing with was intense enough that it set them both on edge. She smiled weakly at Fangs, and walked back towards the bar. Jughead’s words of “watch her,” were still lingering in her head as they met with Sweet Pea and Toni. They all looked at each other before Toni broke the silence with a quick, “plan?” 

Fangs took a deep breath before responding with, “Boss Man said that Pea needs to bring her up to his place. I’m supposed to watch her. Pea you can come back down here with Toni and keep me updated. I’ll wait outside of Jugs apartment until they’re done.”

Before Betty had a chance to react, she was being led up a staircase on the opposite side of the bar. She was sandwiched between the two of them with Sweet Pea at the lead. As they walked up the stairs, Betty met Toni’s eyes, and the pink haired girl behind the bar gave Betty a small, but encouraging smile. Taking a breath she didn’t know she needed, she allowed her self to be led into Jughead’s apartment. 

“Make yourself at home. The bathroom is that first door, and his room is off to the right. I’ll text Fangs when he is headed back upstairs. Then he’ll drive you home.” Sweet Pea stated. This was a voice filled with no nonsense and no room for debate. Fangs only nodded his head. 

Just as Sweet Pea was about to leave the apartment, Betty blurted out, “wait.” He stopped, and she felt two pairs of shocked eyes on her. 

“What’s up, Coop?” Sweet Pea asked.

Betty paused and ran up to Sweet Pea. He saw her running towards him, and already had his arms open for her. “Does he really need you down there? Can you please stay?” For the first time, she was scared. She felt Sweet Pea relax a bit and pulled away so he could look at her.

“He needs me down there, Coop. If you want him okay, I have to go help, okay? But it won’t be long. And Fangs will be right outside. If you need someone, if you really need me, I’ll be up, okay? Then he kissed the top of her head and backed away. Toni came up to her and kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand.

“He does this enough to know how to stay safe. It won’t help if you’re running around the bar. He needs to know you’re okay in order to be okay himself,” Toni said. She stepped away and looked at Betty. “He’s going to be okay.”

Betty nodded. She was ready to be here, but she was also ready to go home and shower. 

Home.

“Wait!” She yelled again. “I drove myself here. If Jughead is going to drive me home, how will my car get there?

“Don’t worry, Betty,” Fangs said calmly, “Sweet Pea will follow behind you and Jughead. He won’t want you to drive after you’ve had something to drink. Even if it was over an hour ago.” 

“Yeah and after you saw him with a gun to someone’s head.”

“So not the time, Sweet Pea.”

“Right. I’ll follow you home. Now go like... go to sleep,” he said, shooing her away. When he shut the door behind him, Betty and Fangs were left alone in the small apartment. They stood in comfortable silence before Betty said,

“Do you need to stand outside? We could watch a movie?” She looked at him with questioning eyes. Up until this moment, she had never really had conversations with Fangs. They shared one class (history) together, and he, like everyone else, never took his Serpent jacket off. Fangs was much shorter than Jughead and Sweet Pea. He maybe had three inches on Betty, and she knew if she had worn the heels that Veronica always tried to get her to wear, she’d be taller than him. He wore the same thing that every Serpent wore: dark t-shirt, dark pants, some form of laced up combat boot, and a Serpent jacket.

Betty found herself wanting to get to know Fangs. He was part of Jughead’s life, and after the week that she had, she wanted an inside scoop. Looking at him, she saw conflict behind his eyes at her question. He was probably debating needing to stand for god knows how long outside of Jughead’s door and obeying orders, or hanging out with Betty inside. 

After looking around the room again, he replied with, “I would like to,” then paused for a breath, “but I can’t. If something happens downstairs and I need to get you out of here, I’ll have a better view and understanding of it if I’m able to look outside onto the bar.” He had a guilty look on his face, like he knew that she would have more questions, but just couldn’t answer them.

Fangs walked away. He could see that Betty wanted to ask questions. He stopped when he got to the door and said, “I’m not the right person to answer your questions, Betty.” He smiled sadly at her and continued, “lock this door behind me, Jughead shouldn’t be much longer.” 

Then he walked out. Betty stared at the closed door for a moment, contemplating just not locking it at all. It dead bolted from the inside, so Fangs couldn’t even do it for her and go back out. But then she remembered the look of fear in Jughead’s eyes, and she walked up to the door, doing to lock on the handle, above it, and dead-bolting it. She knocked once on the door to let Fangs know she had locked it. He knocked back with two raps, and Betty moved away from the door and into the apartment. 

It wasn’t what she expected it to be, not that she had ever expected to be in his apartment at all. There was a large, tan L-shaped sofa on the far wall of the living room with a TV mounted on the wall across from it. She stood on an unbelievably comfortable rug that felt like standing on grass without the wet or squishy feel. His kitchen had both black countertops and cabinets, but it didn’t feel cramped. There was a picture of young Jughead and a little girl standing in front of the Twilight Drive-In sign on the wall in the hallway. His bathroom was surprisingly clean, which gave her butterflies for a reason unknown to her. She wanted to open up the door to her right and peek into his bedroom, but decided against it, moving to stand in the hallway again.

By far, the most beautiful part of Jughead’s apartment were the floor to ceiling bookcases that lined the left wall. They were packed, with books on top of the properly stacked books and even a small pile on the floor next to the bathroom. She spent at least fifteen minutes pacing the hallway, looking at each title, pulling them out to read the backs, only to put them back carefully when she was done.

She felt hot and sticky and uncomfortable. She walked back into the bathroom and looked at it a bit more. There was a shower that had a bathtub and a cabinet with extra towels. She looked under the sink and found an extra, unopened tooth-brush.

_I am going to take a shower and I do not give a fuck._

She held her breath and walked into his room. She found a sweatshirt on the bed and grabbed it. She didn’t look at the rest of his room or his stuff. She walked back into the bathroom and turned on the hot water. She stepped in and let the hot water flow over her head and body. She grabbed a body wash that definitely smelled like men’s soap and washed off the day. 

When she was done she stepped out and wrapped the towel around herself and dried off. Then she pulled back on her leggings and threw on his sweatshirt. She walked back to the living room and laid down on the couch. She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until she heard loud pounding on the door and someone saying, “undo the deadbolt,” A wave of relief flooded through her at the sound of Jughead’s voice. She made quick work of the deadbolt and took a step back, allowing him room to come in. Just as quickly as the relief it, it was taken away. 

He was bleeding profusely from his nose, and his right eye was already starting to swell. It looked like he was favoring his left side, and kept one arm wrapped around his body. He looked up at her with unreadable eyes and started to open his mouth, but before he could come up with anything, she loudly said, “ice,” and walked towards the kitchen as if she’d done this a million times.

She didn’t look behind her, be she felt him follow her into the other room. “Sit,” she demanded, swiftly opening the freezer and grabbing ice from the bin. She turned around and froze, finally getting a look at him in the light. He was staring back but was utterly expressionless. She didn’t know how long they stood like that, but it wasn’t until Betty felt the ice start to drip through her fingers and onto her leggings that she continued on her mission. Breaking off a few pieces of paper towels, she wrapped the ice. Then she started opening drawers looking for a clean dish towel. She could feel his eyes on her back, following her every movement, but she didn’t want him to know that she could feel his eyes, so she kept going.

Once she found what she needed, she moved around to the other side of the kitchen counter to where Jughead sat on one of the low chairs. Even sitting down, he was almost eye-level with her. Stepping between his legs so she could place the ice on his eye and the dish towel on his nose, she tried to not be intimidated by his intense stare.

They stayed like that until his nose stopped bleeding. When she was finally able to remove the towel confidently, she gently found the hand that wasn’t holding his side, and started to guide it up to the ice pack. She replaced her hand with his, and stepped away. Walking over to the sink to wash her hands and the towel, she took in a breath. They still hadn’t spoken, only frantic orders exchanged. She got more ice from the freezer and wrapped it in a cloth. She didn’t know what to expect when she removed his shirt to inspect the damage on what could only be his rib cage, but she didn’t think just ice in a paper towel would be enough.

“You took a shower,” he said in a low voice.

“You did say take whatever I want, right?”

She was just about to turn around when Jughead quietly said, “you never need to thank me, Betty Cooper.”

At first she was confused by the statement, but then she remembered why she even came to the Wyrm to begin with.

“Yes I did,” she responded, and walked back over to him. She took the ice back from his eyes and contemplated her next steps. 

“Jughead... I need to ice your ribs. Can you lift your arms for me?”

“I can’t. Not that I don’t want you to see me shirtless,” he smirked, “but I can’t move my right arm higher than my shoulder.”

His smirk was all of the information she needed that he would be okay. He seemed to save that smirk for her and she was secretly pleased.

Betty walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the scissors she saw while looking for the dish towels. “Okay,” she said walking back over to him, “hold still.” To her surprise, he did, and she was able to cut the shirt off without causing any further damage. 

Betty considered herself to be a pretty level headed person in terms of providing first aid. But the bruise forming on Jughead’s ribs caused tears to well up behind her eyes. She looked at him, but he wouldn’t meet her gaze. Setting the scissors down, she mimicked his movement from earlier, pressing her hands into his neck and gently moving his face towards her. Leaning his head into her palm, he finally met her gaze. When he did, a traitor tear slipped through and he lifted his hand up to wipe it away. 

Moving her right hand back to the counter top, she took an audible breath, and gently pressed the ice pack into his side.

The strangled noise that came out of him when she touched his ribs caused tears to slip from her eyes and out of her control again. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry Beanie Boy, but I need to ice it so it doesn’t swell and get worse, I’m doing it so things can get better.”

“Betty Cooper, stop apologizing,” he hissed as she changed her hand placement, “you’re helping me, I know you didn’t do this, it’s okay, I’m going to be okay.” He wrapped his left hand around her body and held onto the back of her thighs. 

“Why did this to you?”

“The guy.”

“Does this have anything to do with what I saw when I first came in?”

“Remind me to yell at whoever let you come back there.”

“Jughead Jones, I’m serious.” 

“I am too,” he muttered. “Yes,” he answered simply. He looked back up at her, “does that scare you?”

“That depends,” she says, “did you kill the guy?”

“Do you think I’d only have a few broken bones and a black eye if I killed him?” 

“I don’t know how your life works,” she said simply.

“Do you want to? I promised you answers.”

“I can’t think of my questions anymore.”

He looked at her quizzically before saying, “come on. I need to get you home before dawn and Pea is going to follow us with your car.”

“He told me,” Betty said, enjoying the way his jaw tensed at the idea of her and Sweet Pea talking. Smiling at him she asked, “can I get you a sweatshirt to zip up so you’re warm?” 

There were more pictures of the little girl in the photo in the hall. She wanted to ask, but didn’t feel like it was the right time, and filed it into her “Things to Grill Jughead Jones About When You Get Your Shit Together” folder that was ever expanding. 

She helped him into his sweatshirt, and when Betty was about to walk back out of the room, Jughead grabbed her and hauled her into his chest. She knew the action pained him, but she was grateful to feel his chest moving up and down. She faced away from him, and both of his arms came to wrap around her. His good arm wrapping around her chest and shoulders and his bad arm coming around her waist. Without even realizing, she threaded her fingers into his right hand and stood there breathing with him.

“Don’t,” he said lowly, “ever come here without telling me again. I don’t want a repeat of what happened tonight and I don’t want to accidentally not be here if for some reason something went wrong, and I couldn’t get you out of here in time.” 

His words reminded her of something that Fangs said. “If something went wrong, why would Fangs have needed to get me out of here in a hurry?”

He didn’t answer her, just kissed the top of her head and buried his head into her hair.

“Because, Betty Cooper, I wouldn’t be able to handle it if something happened to you.” He kissed her forehead and said, “come on, we need to go.”

He led her out of the apartment and down the stairs by her hand, and then switched over to placing his hand on the small of her back when they got downstairs. They walked over to the bar where Betty saw Toni polishing glasses and talking to an older Serpent. Jughead scanned the crowd until he found Sweet Pea.

“Pea!” Jughead yelled, “we’re moving out.”

At his words, Jughead held out his hand in front of Betty, which she took to mean that she needed to hand over her keys. Grabbing them out of her purse, she placed them gently into his hand. No sooner than when they hit his palm did he curl his fingers around them and toss them at Sweet Pea, who caught them with ease.

“Follow up, but park up the street,” was all Jughead said as Sweet Pea gave a two finger salute and walked out of the bar.

“Are you ready to go?” Jughead asked her. She didn’t know how to answer, so she just nodded and let him lead her out to his car. He opened up the door to his Jeep and shut it behind her. Once he had started the car and let it warm up, he started to drive. 

He kept his hand on the gear shift, and in a moment of what felt like pure bravery, she interlaced her fingers with his. She could she the ghost of a smile on his lips as he brought them to her hand. 

They rolled up to Elm St. and Jughead killed the lights, but kept the engine running. Betty looked behind her to see her truck, engine on, lights off. 

She looked over at Jughead to find him already staring at her. She had so many witty comments on the tip of her tongue, but they died out with each breath. Jughead leaned in towards her, and she felt herself go utterly still. His perfect lips pressed gently into her cheek while he murmured,

“Fangs would have to get you out of there, because I would kill anyone who put you in harms way.” Betty shivered, but whether it was from his words or his lips so close to hers, she didn’t know. He pressed one last kiss to the corner of her mouth, not actually touching her, but still effectively setting her whole body on fire. He pulled back and smiled at her. It wasn’t a real smile, but it wasn’t a smirk either. 

Betty felt Sweet Pea open the door behind her. She carefully unbuckled, as if doing it too hard would break it, and stepped out. She gave Sweet Pea a quick half-hug in thanks before walking over to Jughead’s side of the car. He had the window rolled down, and she could see Sweet Pea sitting in the passenger seat on his phone, decidedly giving them some semblance of privacy.

“Really Jughead Jones, thank you,” Betty said.

“You never need to thank me for defending you from abusive men, Betts. I’m going to do it regardless.” The look in his eyes said “don’t argue me on this.”

So she didn’t.

“Okay, well thank you for the ride then,” she said. She made a split second decision and kissed the corner of his mouth this time, and when she pulled back, she could see that his eyes had darkened, even in the black of the evening. She started to walk away when she heard him call back,

“Pick you up at 7:45, Betty Cooper.”

“Oh no, you don’t have to,” Betty replied, even though she really wanted him to, “I usually just walk on Friday morning’s since Archie has early football practice.”

Archie’s name seemed to trigger something in Jughead because he said, “yeah. 7:45, I’ll have coffee.”

Walking backwards towards her car she asked, “why? Why do you want to come get me?”

The look of pure sin on Jughead’s face said it all before he had to, “Because, Angel,” he said lowly, “I’m already going to hell. At least this way I get to have fun.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol I love Sweet Pea.
> 
> ALSO! The next chapter is going to move through time differently! Thank you for your lovely feed back on all of this. As I said. I love you.
> 
> Come tumble with me! @blackberry-bee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	7. I Don't Even Love You (Maybe Just A Litle)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead wasn’t sure who had initiated it, but they were both too stubborn to stop. When he first picked her up on Thursday morning, he was worried that she would take one look at him and run. But instead she held her delicate fingers to his bruised face and allowed him the honor to bring her to school.
> 
> He wasn’t sure when the kissing started either. But he was sure that it wasn’t the type of kissing he wanted to do with Betty Cooper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves,
> 
> I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during these frightening times. I know the quarantine and social distancing can be hard (regardless of where you are) so I hope you are able to find time to take the space for yourself and the things that you love doing.
> 
> With that being said... here is chapter 7! Thus far each chapter has been one day (or in some cases, two chapters equals one day...) but this chapter time jumps in a weird way going back and forth during a two week period. In the end we end up about two weeks after the gun-to-the-head incident. Just as a heads up.
> 
> I love how much you all love this piece, and it's inspiring me to outline my next ones.
> 
> Without further ado-- chap 7
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, the CW and Riverdale creators do, I just enjoy writing them. 
> 
> This story is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

_Just A Little— Masego (feat. De’Wayne Jackson)_

Betty wasn’t sure who decided that they weren’t talking anymore. But they weren’t.

Jughead wasn’t lying when he said he’d pick her up at 7:45. He was waiting outside and leaning up against the passenger side door. When Betty walked up to him, she was waiting for him to say something first. 

He didn’t get a chance to say anything, because Betty gasped and started to tear up when she saw him. His eye was dark blueish purple, with little bits of yellow peaking through. His hands still had some open cuts on them that she figured were airing out because it hurt to bandage them like the rest. He was still favoring his side and looked slightly hunched over. She wanted to burst into full out tears, all of the emotion from the last twenty-four hours building up and swelling to her eyes. Betty touched her fingers gently to his face and brushed them against his eye. He didn’t flinch, but she felt him grimace under her touch. She started to pull away, but he grabbed her hand and kept it where it was. 

She looked at him. She could tell he was exhausted and had gotten little to no sleep that night. And neither had she. She still waiting for him to say something first. Anything about what he was feeling or thinking. 

But he didn’t. 

Instead he let of her fingers and opened the door for her, where she found a white bag and a large coffee on the center console. She looked back at him to find him still staring. She smiled and slid into the front seat. He was about to close the door, but leaned down and kissed her cheek before doing so. 

It said everything she needed to know about how he was feeling. Even more so than words would.

Then he shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side.

She grabbed the bag and pulled out a cinnamon roll and looked over at him. He said nothing, but he pulled the hand that was holding the sugary breakfast up to his mouth, take a _huge_ bite. Betty laughed and he arched his eyebrow at her. Rather than telling him that he had icing on his face, she brought her hand up to his lips to wipe it off. He caught her hand is his and placed a small kiss on her palm before handing her her breakfast back and starting the car. 

He pulled out of the driveway and started towards school. They sat in comfortable silence until Betty plugged her phone into his aux cord. He pushed the button to start his stereo and turned the volume up. She put on a Portugal. The Man song and put her hand back in his. He gave it a squeeze and bopped his head to the music. 

They pulled into the school parking lot and Betty reached behind her to grab her bag. When she twisted forward, Jughead had opened her door and held his hand out for Betty to grab. She reached out and put her hand in his as he helped her out of the car. He kicked her door shut behind him and they walked, hand in hand, for about fifty feet. When they reached the point in the parking lot where people could see them, they let go at the same time and looked at each other. 

Betty nodded at him and he lifted her hand one last time and kissed her knuckles. Then he winked at her and turned on his heel. 

Betty stood there shocked. _He didn’t say “until then.” What the fuck?!_

She shook her head until she got to the front of the school. She knew that Cheryl and Veronica wouldn’t be waiting for her because she rode in with Jughead. She was grateful for it because it gave her time to think about what had just happened.

_Why isn’t he talking to me? And why aren’t I initiating a conversation with him? What happened between last night and this morning that changed the way we interact? Except... I know what he’s thinking, and we have had conversations, like, all morning. But just not out loud? What?_

She was lost in her own head and looking down at her phone, trying to compose a text to him to see if they could talk before chemistry class, but she ran face first into someone.

And not just any someone. But a large, angry, very beat up red haired boy.

“Archie,” Betty breathed out. She almost dropped her phone. Clutching it tighter, she inched around him and turned her back. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she fired of a “911” text and walked into the girls bathroom. She locked the door behind her and leaned against the bathroom sink.

When two quick knocks hit the door, she jumped up and unlocked it. Toni bounced in and asked, “do you want me to lock this?”

“No, it’s okay. It was really only so Archie would walk in.”

“Did Andrew’s try to do something this morning?” Toni ask, growing tense.

“No. No he didn’t. But I did run into him, and... Toni... Sweet Pea really fucked him up. Like, badly.”

“Well good for him!” Toni yelled. Betty looked at her with an unreadable expression and Toni muttered a quick, “sorry.”

“Do you think him being so messed up is going to cause trouble for you guys? You’ve been here for literally 4 days.”

“Nah,” Toni waved away. “If he knows what’s good for him, he won’t say shit. Sweet Pea hit him _without_ his brass knuckles. And probably made it pretty clear that he would do it again. So I wouldn’t worry your cute little blonde head about us.”

“Sweet Pea has brass knuckles?” Betty asked.

“Bethany... Why is that what you’re worri—” Toni started to ask, but Betty cut her off really quickly. 

“Elizabeth.”

“What?” Toni said, shocked.

Betty doubled over in laughter. “You thought,” she choked out, “you thought my name was,” she couldn’t stop laughing. She couched to the ground holding her chest and gasping for breath. Toni had also slid down the wall and was sitting on the floor, tears streaming down her face.

When they finally caught their breaths, Betty said, “my name is Elizabeth. Not Bethany. Where the hell did you even get Bethany from?”

“Fangs!” Toni screamed. This sent them into another round of hysterics. 

“Fangs told you my name was... Bethany?” Betty asked. 

“Yes! Where did he get that from? Do you say something to him about that last night?”

“No! Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Seriously. No idea.”

The girls continued to wipe tears from their eyes when Toni said, “c’mon, Bethany. Let’s go to class.”

And that’s how she and Toni became friends. Sitting on the bathroom floor, dying of laughter and calling Betty the wrong name.

After History class, Betty was on her way to chemistry when the inevitable happened. Archie was propped against her locker, eye swollen shut and slightly favoring one of his sides. He looked like Jughead had that morning. Only worse. 

“Can you move please?” Betty asked, walking up to him. She felt much less brave standing toe to toe with him than she did with Sweet Pea. With Sweet Pea, she knew that she wouldn’t get hurt. It wasn’t the same with Archie.

“You can’t just send your snakes after me and expect me to not demand an explanation,” Archie growled. “Look at my face, Elizabeth.”

Though she probably shouldn’t have, Betty burst out laughing at Archie calling her ‘Elizabeth’ because of what happened with Toni just the hour before. Thinking of Toni and the other Serpents gave her the nerve to approach Archie, and stepped right up under him. She curled her fingers into a fist, not to push them in, but to get them ready for a fight. 

She relished in the taken aback look on Archie’s face and batted her eyes innocently at him. 

“What, Arch? What would you like, nay, what do you _demand_ to know? Because from what I understand is _you_ got your ass handed to you after _you_ tried to wrap _your_ hands around _my_ throat? And Sweet Pea, my darling friend Sweet Pea, laid you out after Jughead threw you across the hall? That’s the _only_ explanation I have.” Then she sighed and looked up at him. 

“However, I heard that you thought I had them jump you for no... apparent... reason?” She tapped her chin to accentuate the point and cocked her head to the side. “And then told people I left the bathroom with them both? No, sweet Archiekins. You have your stories all mixed up. But if you want to move off to the side so I can get in my locker, my dear friend Sweet Pea can help jog your memory.”

Betty saw Sweet Pea approaching out of the corner of her eye, and discreetly held her hand out to him, indicating that he shouldn’t come over. But when she was ready for the conversation to end, she waved him over without causing any suspicion.

“This guy bothering you, Coop?” Sweet Pea asked while throwing an arm around her shoulders. “What’s up Andrews? How’s that eye treating you?”

“I think I had it handled, Pea. Wouldn’t you say it was handled, Archie?” Betty raised a daring eyebrow at him and waited for his response.

Archie scowled and stomped away, obviously annoyed that his attempted gaslighting hadn’t gone the way he was expecting it to. Betty could tell his ego was bruised. He wasn’t aware of the intensity of Betty’s relationship with the Serpents. 

Especially Sweet Pea.

And certainly not Jughead.

“Are you my new bodyguard?” Betty asked with a smile. She wrapped one arm around his torso and gave it a squeeze. 

“Coop, I’ve always been your bodyguard. It’s just actually necessary now.” He pulled away and looked at her. “How was your ride in with the Boss Man?”

_Well we didn’t actually talk but we realized that neither of us got enough sleep and were happy to see each other. But we aren’t talking. And he’s in incredibly bad shape and I have so many questions about what happened last night. But we aren’t talking. And I almost cried. But we aren’t talking. Oh, and he brought me breakfast and we held hands the whole time and kissed each other on the face! So I don’t know how it went, Pea._

“It was fine. He brought me breakfast. Archie used to do that when we walked in together. I don’t remember if I ever told him about that, but maybe he was just being nice.”

“Yeah,” Sweet Pea smirked. “Nice.” 

_What do you know!!!!!!!_ Betty internally screamed.

He walked her to her next class where Jughead was waiting outside for her. _Beanie wearing, secret keeping, amazing smelling, mother fucker!_ He smiled when he saw them, and gave Sweet Pea a nod. 

“Anything?”

“Some,” Sweet Pea replied. “But we’re good now. Boss Lady holds her own. He’s in there, yeah?”

“Yep,” Jughead quipped. He opened the door for Betty to walk through. She didn’t think this measure of theatrics was necessary, but she wasn’t going to lie and say that she didn’t like the security that being protected by two dangerous ass men wasn’t reassuring.

Not that she wasn’t dangerous herself, she realized.

Betty stepped towards the door and heard Sweet Pea call, “see you at lunch, Boss Lady!”

_Neck tattoo’d, huggable, loud ass, crowd stirring mother fucker!_ Betty yelled back at him in her head.

Jughead followed far enough behind her to not cause any real suspicion about their... relationship? But close enough that she could feel his energy vibrating behind her.

Yeah. Magnetic.

They got to their seats, but before Betty could sit down, she felt Jughead put both of his arms on her waist and move her to his seat, placing her on his left. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and he raised on right back. She decided not to question it.

And she was incredibly glad she made that choice.

As they started taking notes, she felt his left hand start to trace circles on her knee. It was innocent, like bouncing your leg up and down when you’re concentrating. 

Only now Betty couldn’t concentrate.

After summoning an incredible amount of will power, Betty was able to focus again. 

Except he slid his hand so far up her thigh that he could no doubt feel the heat radiating off her body. She felt herself jerking her knee up, but his grip on her thigh kept her where she was. The pads of his fingers played an abstract rhythm through the rest of class. 

She gave up on concentrating.

Betty once again waited until everyone was out of the room the grab his chin and turn it to face her. His eyes went dark and his mouth opened slightly. She leaned in, and saw him close his eyes gently. She stayed where she was for a good ten second before kissing the pressure point under his ear.

Then she packed up her stuff and left. 

Well she didn’t really leave, because Joaquin was standing at the door, waiting to bring her to the next class they had together. 

“He’s got you in on this too, huh?” Betty asked, walking next to him.

“Well when the Boss Man says look out for the Boss—“

“I would like to remind you that I won in a fight against Sweet Pea yesterday and will go to the mat with you if you choose to finish that sentence.”

He burst out laughing at this and clapped a hand down on her shoulder. They walked into English Lit together and sat down. Once again, this was a class she had with Archie. Joaquin slid into the seat next to her before Archie could.

He had a look of murderous rage on his face. But Joaquin’s was much more terrifying. Betty, as brave as she was in some situations, she couldn’t deny that the faces that they Serpents instinctually made were absolutely bone chilling.

Archie audibly growled out, “are you always surrounded by these snakes, Betty? I would have thought that after our conversation in the Blue and Gold that you wouldn’t turn into the naive little girl people had accused you of being.”

What Archie didn’t see during his little rant was a certain tiny pink haired Serpent approaching behind him. Before Betty even had a chance to respond, Toni tapped Archie on the shoulder. He spun around and looked down at her with confused anger. Then said, “oh and I guess you’re part of the entourage too?”

Toni touched her pointer finger to her chin and tilted her head to the said saying, “ooh, entourage. That’s a big word for a man with such a teeny-tiny brain,” she held her first finger and thumb close together, “don’t you think, Boss Lady?”

Though Betty usually protested the name, she liked the implication of it in this situation. Especially light of being called naive again. She stood up leaned up against the desk, so her shoulder was touching Toni’s. 

“ _Such_ a big word for someone who has such a small... brain,” Betty trailed off. 

Toni was about to reply to Betty’s statement but the bell rang and the teacher walked in, forcing everyone to calm down and go back to their seats. 

The class passed with a tension that you could taste, that’s how thick it was. It left a bitter and tangy taste on the back of their tongues. Betty stayed close to Joaquin and Toni through the class. Thankfully for her, Archie wasn’t in the rest of her classes, so her in-between-class-watch-party was turned down a notch. 

When she passed them in the hall they checked in and asked, but she always said she was okay. Jughead was usually with them. They still hadn’t talked since the night before, but each time they saw each other they found themselves touching. A quick hand hold. And grab of the waist. A secret kiss to the top of Betty’s head. 

She loved and hated every single second of it. 

So when they got to lunch, rather then sitting at two separate tables across different parts of the cafeteria, they all crammed onto one table in the far corner of the room. 

Somehow Betty ended up on Sweet Pea’s lap, but still had part of her body pressed against Jughead at all times. On the other side of Sweet Pea was Veronica, who spent the majority of lunch trying not to laugh at Sweet Pea’s advancements. On the other side of the table was Cheryl, Toni and Fangs. Joaquin had pulled a chair up and was sitting backwards on it, with his chest pressed against the back of the chair.

“So Archie tried to call you naive again?” Veronica asked, reaching for one of Sweet Pea’s fries. 

“Baby what did I tell you! Stop taking my stuff unless you’re _taking_ my stuff,” Sweet Pea smirked. But he still pushed his fries closer to her and turned back to Toni.

“And you didn’t do anything about it?” He asked.

“I wanted to! But class was called to order and I had to refrain from kicking him in the balls.”

“Ooh! You should ask Betty for tips on that. She’s kicked a guy or two in the last few years,” Cheryl said, clapping her hands.

Everyone went silent and all eyes went to Betty, who was trying to only pay attention to her salad. She knew she would have to explain herself at some point but for now she threw caution to the wind and said,

“We aren’t talking about this now.”

“Coop,” Sweet Pea whined, “I need full details!”

“Fangs decided my name was Bethany!” Betty yelled, trying to come up with a distraction. 

This shut everyone up. Their mouths all hung open and Betty had to refrain from leaning over and closing them.

“Fangs... you thought her name was Bethany?” Jughead finally asked. 

“What the hell else is ‘Betty’ short for?!” Fangs yelled in a panic.

“Elizabeth!” Everyone screamed at the same time. 

“That doesn’t even make any sense!” Fangs yelled back.

They all yelled back and forth, arguing about the merits of Betty’s name until finally Sweet Pea yelled, 

“QUIET!”

The whole table went silent instantly and looked over at him. Veronica questioned him and asked, “what the hell?”

“Betty needs to tell me who she’s kicked in the balls!” All heads turned to him in shock, but quickly turned back to Betty’s with interest.

“Cut it out Pea,” she warned, trying to make her voice lower to command respect.

“Coop!”

_I cannot handle this right now. Fuck Cheryl for doing this to me, for setting me up to fail in this moment._

With that, Betty blurted out the only thing that she could think of to potentially shut down the conversation of the men she’s kicked in the balls. 

“I call Boss Lady!” She yelled.

Everyone was looking at her. _Fuck. Explanation time…_ “If everyone is going to insist on calling me ‘Boss Lady,’ then I reserve the right to ‘call it’ and shut something down.”

_Perfect_

Silence followed.

“Yep. Okay. Can we keep Bethany?” Fangs asked, making everyone laugh. 

At this, Jughead grabbed Betty by the waist and shifted her weight over so she could be on his lap. No one thought anything of it, and if they did, they didn’t say anything. They weren’t gross or PDA’y, just sat there, stealing each other’s food, laughing at Sweet Pea trying to hit on Cheryl and... not talking.

She turned slightly to look at him, and he pulled himself back. Once again she raised an eyebrow at him, and he raised one right back.

_Okay, Jughead Jones. It’s on._

They continued to play this game of cat and not talking over the course of the next two weeks. Jughead would pick her up at 7:45 with coffee and breakfast. He would greet her with a small kiss on the cheek. She would put music on. He would grab her hand and hold onto it until they got to school. He’d jump out and open her door. They would walk to school, not holding hands, but with pinkies touching at every step. Before they walked in, Betty would stand up on her tip toes and kiss him on the cheek. 

They still didn’t talk. 

Veronica and Cheryl would meet her at the door and pester her with questions about their relationship. Betty would say the same thing every single time. 

“We don’t even talk.”

They would sit together in chemistry class, alternating who was on the left or the right, and each taking turns with their hands on the other’s thighs.

They still didn’t talk.

After chemistry, they wouldn’t see each other until lunch. Betty would still sit in Sweet Pea’s lap and steal Jughead’s fries and he would take the pieces of cucumber off of her salad and pop them in her mouth. They would have conversations with each other through their friends or their eyes and no one questioned the lack of words because everyone felt that they would be intruding. 

In all of this, Betty had to deal with Alice being back in town too. She was pushed back into the pink mold of perfection she had been running away from for an entire week. When Alice asked why Betty wasn’t walking in with Archie anymore, Betty thought,

_Well Alice, I’m actually not walking in with Archie because he tried to... kill me? And now the leader of the Southside Serpents is now driving me in, bringing me fatty breakfasts, and kissing every part of my body except the places I really want him to._

Instead she said, “he was leaving too late for me to walk in, and I didn’t want to be late for my first class. We were cutting it too close far too often.”

Alice’s reply was simple: “That’s very responsible of you, honey, I’m glad to see you’re no longer associating yourself with that Andrews boy. He was nothing but trouble.”

When Alice was back, Betty told Veronica to tell Jughead to park all the way at the end of the block in the direction that she would have to walk in, in case Alice was peaking out of the window to make sure she was still walking alone. Because, apparently, talking to the boy you liked was old school, and needed to get messages to him via res friend. By the time she was out of sight from her house, she practically skipped towards the Jeep. 

On days where Betty left especially early because she knew Jughead would be there sooner than 7:45, she would sit on the hood of his car, legs dangling as he stood between them, eating her breakfast and laughing at the stupid faces he would make at his phone while playing some game or pressing the pad of her index finger to the crease in his eyebrows when he got to a riveting part in a book. 

But Betty forgot that on the Monday Alice was first home, that she would have to squeeze into the suffocating pink and light blue and thought nothing of it until she walked up to Jughead. He burst out into belly laughs and doubled over. At first she was confused, but then she came to the gross realization as to why. 

Pink.

When she tried to run past him and walk in on her own, he grabbed her, swung her around and hugged her tight. He kissed the top of her head as she pretending to pound her fists against his chest.

She found herself hiding her smiles throughout the rest of the car ride as he shot her pleading looks to the side of her head and kissed the inside of her wrist to get her attention. 

She didn’t budge.

When they got to school, instead of him going towards Sweet Pea and the other Serpents, he walked with Betty up the steps and met Cheryl and Veronica. 

“Betty is mad at me,” he said angrily to them.

“Well you obviously did something,” Cheryl said and Veronica’s eyes went dark and she turned towards Betty asking, “what did he do?”

“He made fun of my Alice approved attire,” she said to Cheryl.

“Who’s Alice?” Jughead asked. He was looking at Cheryl and Veronica, but Betty knew the question was directed towards her.

“Her mom,” they said at the same time.

“Speaking of Alice, B, I brought your clothes,” Veronica said. She handed the tote bag to Betty and and she peered in. A cozy looking black off-the-shoulder sweater and black leggings.

“Ah! You remembered!” Betty jumped up and down. She kissed Veronica’s cheek and turned to walk down the hallway to change, completely ignoring Jughead standing there. Before she got too far he grabbed her, pulled her in tight and kissed the top of her head. 

Then just as quickly as he grabbed her, he let go and walked back towards Sweet Pea, who was standing across the parking lot with his arms out in the universal “what the fuck,” position.

“That boy is so in love with you,” Veronica sighed.

“Which one?” Cheryl asked with a laugh.

“Sweet Pea is not in love with me,” Betty huffed. 

“Maybe. But you didn’t say anything about Jughead _not_ being in love with you,” Veronica smirked.

They kept walking towards the bathroom where Betty could change into the darker clothing the Veronica brought and put on a bit more make up. She stood in the mirror, avoiding eye-contact with them as she applied more mascara. When she finished putting her hair in a bun and swiped one last time over her lips with the gloss, she turned to Cheryl and Veronica and said,

“He’s not in love with me. We don’t even talk.”

* * *

They weren’t talking.

Jughead wasn’t sure who had initiated it, but they were both too stubborn to stop. When he first picked her up on Thursday morning, he was worried that she would take one look at him and run. But instead she held her delicate fingers to his bruised face and allowed him the honor to bring her to school.

He wasn’t sure when the kissing started either. But he was sure that it wasn’t the type of kissing he wanted to do with Betty Cooper.

He missed saying her name out loud to her, but he wasn’t going to be the one to talk first. He was afraid that if he opened his mouth, she would remember that he was holding a gun to someone’s head, and run screaming in the other direction. So he stayed quiet and waited for her to speak first, so say something about how she didn’t sleep well either and that she was grateful for the coffee and cinnamon roll.

She didn’t say it out loud, but she said it.

He knew she must have had questions because she was Betty Cooper and she always had questions. He had a gun to someone’s head and she said nothing about it, but she still got in his car and still showed him affection and didn’t flinch when he touched her. In fact, she showed him more affection than he showed her.

At first.

But then he became addicted to the way her body felt against his and how soft her hands were and how she fit under him when he held her against his chest and he had to try so hard to keep his body under control and not throw her over his shoulder and lock her in his apartment for the foreseeable future.

But they weren’t even talking.

Over the weekend when she would work her Saturday shift at Pop’s, Jughead and their friends would sit in the two booths and annoy Betty with fake orders and feign disappointment with their food. Betty would always bring him his usual; double cheese-burger with all of the fixings, fries and a double chocolate shake. Once she finished putting it down, he would grab the inside of her wrist and tap twice. They’d make quick eye-contact, and Betty would be off.

“What the hell is that about?” Joaquin asked.

“Yeah, Boss Man, why are you talking to Bethany anymore?” Toni questioned.

“Ugh,” Veronica sighed.

“Her name is Betty,” Jughead said, picking at his fries. 

“Are we still calling her Bethany?” Sweet Pea asked, beginning to poke Toni in the side.

“Her name is Betty,” Jughead mumbled again.

“We aren’t still calling her Bethany. Fangs thought her name was Bethany, remember?”

“Oh!” Sweet Pea exclaimed. “So Fangs still is just plain dumb.”

While everyone was laughing at Fangs’s expanse, Jughead shrunk back into a pit of panicked questioning. 

_Why isn’t she talking to me? Is she afraid I’m going to hurt her? And why aren’t I talking to her? Is it fear of rejection? It’s always been fear of rejection. Though, it is kind of a turn on that we can talk without talking, and that physical affection is making up for lost words._

“Okay, but for real, Boss Man, why aren’t you and Betty talking?” Joaquin asked.

Before Jughead could come up with an explanation, Betty returned with a strawberry milkshake and placed it in front of him. She slid in next to him and started talking to everyone like they weren’t in a silent battle of intense feelings and stubbornness. 

_Fuck you, Betty Cooper._

At some point Betty got up and went to tend to other customers, and their friends realized that they had to go. They paid their bill and all went up to the counter to hug Betty goodbye.

“Bye Coop!” Sweet Pea said and kissed her cheek sloppily. 

_Get your lips off her!_

“Bye Pea,” she laughed. She turned and hugged everyone goodbye. She cracked jokes with Toni and Fangs about her name, and Joaquin stood next to them with his elbow on her shoulder. 

At some point Veronica came over and wrapped her arms around Betty’s waist and put her head on Betty’s shoulder. Cheryl jumped in at some point and the three girls had some form of group hug full of squeals and whispers.

Through all of this Jughead leaned against the counter, sipping on the strawberry milkshake that he had come to love. He didn’t jump in on the overly affectionate goodbyes. He was driving her home. He got to be the last person to wrap arms around her waist. The last person to kiss her cheek. The last person to hold her.

He lived for it.

After his own goodbyes, he sat down on at the counter. It was 9:14pm, and he only had to wait forty-six minutes before he got to hold her hand as they walked to the Jeep. 

When she came behind the counter and twisted her body around so she was facing him, he pushed the half-finished strawberry milkshake towards her and watched her wrap her lips around the straw and sip slowly. She sighed as the cool drink went down her throat.

He wanted to be down her throat.

She spent the rest of the night running through the diner wiping down tables and booth seats. She paid attention to her late night customers and made sure they were satisfied before she walked back over to Jughead, wrapping her arms around his shoulders from behind and trying to fuck with the game he was playing and sipping on her milkshake.

At 10:08 they walked outside, one hand in hers, a bag of burgers in the other. They drove in comfortable silence and indie songs to her house, where he parked and they ate their food, her scrolling through social media, him reading Truman Capote and trying not to take her in his back seat.

When they we’re done, she would get out of the Jeep, walk over to his side and gently kiss his cheek. Then she would grab her bags and he would open his door and grab her by the waist and hold her.

They would stay like that for what felt like hours.

He would pull back and place his head against hers, then kiss her forehead and walk away.

This routine went on for two weeks. 

They still didn’t talk. But during the next two weeks he learned way more about Betty Cooper not talking than he would talking. 

Like the fact that she preferred her bacon a little bit on the fattier side on her breakfast sandwich, and that she liked it on a biscuit instead of an English muffin.

She had a worn copy of Pride and Prejudice that looked like it had been through the washing machine once or twice. He never saw her actually open it, but she held it on her lap every now and then like it was a security blanket.

She, Cheryl and Veronica kissed each other on the hands and cheeks and heads every time they said goodbye, and hugged more than any group of friends he’d ever known. 

Sweet Pea loved Betty like a little sister. When they would approach Jughead laughing, he could see how much they loved each other. But it was the type of love full of bickering and throwing each other and fries around. 

Betty and her mom didn’t get a long. Or they didn’t talk. Jughead didn’t know which. He knew Betty called her “Alice” and that her name was all Betty had to say in order for Veronica and Cheryl to understand the severity of a situation.

He learned that Betty wasn’t a virgin. He didn’t know the details, but he knew it happened that past summer. It angered him to know that someone else had had her like that before, and that if he were to be given a chance, that he wasn’t going to be the first person inside her.

He found out about the intricacies of Betty and Cheryl’s relationship. They were worst enemies turned cousins turned best friends. Somewhere Veronica showed up and the three of them became inseparable. What one did, the other two did too. He couldn’t even begin to keep track at how many times they all moved in the same way at the same time, or said the same thing at the same time. They loved each other.

Toni loved Betty too. They bonded over this idea of Fangs not knowing the proper name for Betty, so they called each other Bethany and Antonia. It was heartwarming and also made Jughead want to throw up because every other person in his life had something to talk about with Betty and he was just sitting there, silent.

He knew Betty loved cheese. Especially American cheese, and lived for it on her breakfast sandwiches. But if you put regular milk in her coffee, instead of almond or oat or soy or whatever plant based shit he ended up spending too much money on, she just would refuse to drink it. And she could smell the difference between regular milk and plant based milk. 

She was an enigma.

The hardest part about not talking to Betty was not being able to ask for her advise about what to do about his dad. It was clear that she had a shitty relationship with her mom, so she might be able to provide insight to the shit show that was his dad’s current point in terms of his prison sentencing.

FP had come out of solitary and had been granted phone privileges. Not visitation rights, but phone privileges. Jughead wasn’t going to call him. He felt that his dad deserved to rot in hell for the shit he put everyone through.

But someone on the inside got word of what went down with Dorian and told his dad. Who was flipping out and trying to get Jughead to call him and explain himself. But he didn’t owe his dad anything. So he ordered Pea to play pool with him to get his mind off his dad and maybe off of Betty.

It backfired.

“Okay, but actually,” Sweet Pea said, breaking the balls and sinking a solid colored one, “why aren’t you and Coop talking?” Sweet Pea missed his next shot, so Jughead lined up his pool cue to a stripped one and pulled back.

“It’s not,” he said, concentrating, “that we aren’t talking. It’s that we weren’t talking. And now it’s been two weeks since the incident and she hasn’t said a word about it and I’m too pussy to bring it up. So we just... I don’t know... touch each other in silence?” He pushed the cue out from under him and forcefully hitting... nothing. “And not even the way I want to be silently touching her,” he muttered, trading places with Pea.

“Okay... so basically, you two just like each other. A lot. Could maybe even love each other at one point. And are both scared of the other running. And have been since you guys first started talking to each other three weeks ago. But you’re both too stubborn to have a conversation with the other because you’re afraid of...? Never talking again?”

Jughead grabbed two shots off of the tray that was being passed around. He handed one to Sweet Pea, lifted his glass, and threw his shot back in one movement. “Something like that.” 

“But why?” Pea continued to ask. “What if you talk and she does run. Then you’ve spent the last two weeks of your lives not talking.”

_Obviously I’ve thought about that. But it’s better to be around her not talking than risk the chance of talking and everything ending._

Jughead kept his thoughts to himself and took another shot at the balls, finally sinking one. He moved around the table to line up another shot.

“It’s been two weeks, Boss Man. How long can you keep this up?”

Jughead threw his cue down on the table, spun around so he was leaning against it, and fisted his hands into his hair. “I don’t know! I will literally be her silent chauffeur until the day I die if it means she won’t run!”

Sweet Pea said nothing and waited for Jughead’s breathing to calm down. Jughead didn’t deserve Sweet Pea.

No one deserved Sweet Pea.

Well maybe Betty Cooper deserved Sweet Pea.

“Now who’s being dramatic?” Sweet Pea asked. “C’mon. Let’s go to the bar, get a drink, and then we’ll drive out to the overlook just beyond Greendale, okay?”

“Pea, I already had a shot. I am not getting a drink at the bar if I’m also supposed to drive.”

“I said get _a_ drink. Not get _you_ a drink. I’m drinking. You’re driving.”

They walked over to the bar where Joaquin was trying to throw tiny coned cups onto the tops of all of the bottles. Fangs was on his phone and Toni was talking to a customer at the end of the bar. When she saw Jughead and Sweet Pea approach she quickly pulled away from the conversation and bounced up to them.

“What can I get you, Boss Man?” Then she looked at Sweet Pea, “Boss Man’s side kick?”

“As if it mattered to you, Tiny, Boss Man isn’t drinking because _we,_ us _non-working_ folk, are going for a drive. And Boss Man is driving.”

“Okay, Sweet Prick, one, Boss Man makes my schedule so I could technically ask him if I could leave early. And two, why would he go anywhere with you with Betty walking in looking like that?”

_Betty? Betty is here? She didn’t text me. Did she text me? Where’s my phone?_

At the sound of her name, Jughead whipped his head around to the entrance where he was Betty Cooper standing with Veronica and Cheryl. Betty was wearing a black jumpsuit that looked sort of like coveralls, but make it... sexy? He didn’t really pay attention to the others as they walked over, and tried with all of his strength to stay where he was. 

But he met her half-way across the bar anyway.

He got to the girls and said, “ladies, you all look great this evening,” but he was only looking at Betty. “Mind if I take Betty Cooper outside for a bit? We’ll be right back. Everyone is at the bar already. Drinks are on me.”

He didn’t wait for a response before he sidestepped Betty, grabbed her hand and brought her outside. He regretted it almost instantly, because there was a bitter wind chill and Betty was not wearing a jacket. He shrugged off his Serpent jacket and put it over her shoulders. He was lucky he had thrown on a sweatshirt before walking downstairs that night.

“I said never come here without letting me know first! What if I wasn’t here!” He yelled.

“Well it’s not like we’re talking! I can’t send you a raised eye-brow over text! Plus you would have said no!” Betty yelled right back.

“How do you know that! You didn’t ask!”

“I didn't need to! You don’t talk to me!”

“Well you stopped talking to me first! You could have just said good-morning that day and we wouldn’t be here!”

“And you could have explained yourself from the night before but instead you brought cinnamon and silence and what am I supposed to do?”

“Text me before you walk into my bar! That’s an—”

_Fuck_

He had almost said, “that’s an order,” and she knew it. 

She stood there, frozen in place. She looked like she wanted to yell and scream and punch him, but also hug him forever. 

She managed to do both.

“Fuck you, Beanie Boy,” she yelled, trying to hide her smile. 

“Fuck you too, Betty Cooper,” he yelled back, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms low on her waist, picking her up so they spun in circles. She wrapped both of her legs around his middle and he shifted his arms so they were grasping under her knees. They were laughing like maniacs and Jughead felt like his chest was being cracked open by each tinkling laugh and the sunlight that he was missing for the last two weeks was finally pouring through. They both started talking at the same time, then Jughead pushed his pointer finger to her lips and silenced her.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

She placed little dainty kisses on his index fingers and then said around it, “I missed you, Beanie Boy.”

He smiled and broke out into big belly laughs again. She missed him. Betty Cooper, the most frustrating and beautiful woman he would ever know, missed him.

“Betty Cooper, I missed you too.”

He put her down and they leaned against his Jeep and talked about everything they hadn’t said over the last two weeks. About how Alice came home and how it meant that Betty had to wear pink to school every day. About how FP heard about the guy in the office and wanted answers, but that Jughead refused to call him. How Veronica was falling for Sweet Pea but would never admit it to him, because she liked the way he worked for it. How Fangs had a tiny crush on Betty but she didn’t care and said, “all of my feelings have been knit into a crown shaped beanie,” which made Jughead turn such a shade of red that he had to pull said beanie over his eyes.

They were just getting a bit deeper into the things that they had missed when Sweet Pea yelled out, “are you all done yelling at each other? I’d like to go on that drive now!”

Betty looked at him and raised her eyebrow. He just shook his head and continued to stare at her while saying, “yeah, bring whoever. Let’s go.” Everyone rolled out of the bar and Jughead felt relieved when he remembered about the third row of seating in the back of the Jeep.

“I call shotgun!” Sweet Pea yelled.

“You can’t have shotgun,” Betty said.

“Yes, I can. I called it.”

“Yeah well,” Betty said, coming to stand in front of Jughead. He put his arms around her waist and hugged her from behind. Then she lifted her hand so she could point at Jughead, “I call Boss Lady.”

She untangled himself from him and skipped up to the front seat. Everyone piled in behind her, Sweet Pea grumbling the whole time. 

“Where are we going?” Veronica asked from Sweet Pea’s lap.

“Well, we can go one of two places. The first is not that far from here, a clearing by Sweetwater river. The second is about an extra half-hour drive out to a look out point up in Greendale,” Jughead said. “Can everyone put their heads down so I can see?”

All heads dropped and Jughead backed out and started to drive. He wasn’t shocked when Veronica asked, “where’s the best place to smoke?”

“The river,” every Serpent answered. 

“Then the river we shall go!” Cheryl yelled. She plugged her phone into the aux cord and some awful top-forties song came on and she and Veronica started singing it loudly. Much to Jughead’s surprise, Betty had spun around so she was facing those in back and was sining along. She was trying to get Sweet Pea to sing, but he was still too “mad” at her for taking shot gun. 

Jughead rested his hand on her thigh like he would in chemistry and allowed his fingers to tap along to the beat of the song.

When they got to the clearing, Jughead parked the car and everyone got out. Betty started to undo her seatbelt but Jughead stopped her, remembering what Betty had said about getting drunk with Cheryl that night.

“Is Veronica…?”

“She’s in the dark place, yeah. We came here tonight so she could drink. Cheryl wouldn’t let her drink alone since that’s not her vice, so we came here, knowing that you would let her drink for free, even if it was just a little. But she has like six joints in her purse. Just a heads up.”

“You came here, not to end our silent battle, but to get your friend drunk for free?” Jughead asked, eyes wide.

“I knew showing up here unannounced would get a reaction and response out of you, but that you would all send Cheryl and Veronica to the bar and let them drink while we talked. Really it was just a win-win situation.” She could see him growing ever more predatory, so as she finished her explanation, she quickly unbuckled her seatbelt, threw open the door and sprinted out. 

Jughead gave her a three second head start before chasing after her. When he reached her, picked her up from behind and pulled her to a stop. Then he threw her over his shoulder and ran back over to Sweet Pea. He physically tossed her over to Pea who then cradled her like a baby and spun her in circles until gently putting her down and giving her back to Jughead. 

For the rest of the night, Jughead didn't let Betty out of his reach. If she walked over to talk so someone, Jughead was right there. If she was picked up and thrown around by Sweet Pea (again), he was ready to grab her when he put her down.

At one point they were standing in a circle with a few of them leaning against the car and the rest hovered around. Betty’s back was once again pressed up against Jughead’s chest, and when she took a hit, he could feel her chest rising and falling. When it was his turn, Jughead got bold and inhaled as much as he could before tilting Betty’s chin up and shotgunning the smoke into her mouth.

It was the closest their lips had ever come to touching. 

Jughead was surprised by his self-control.

Betty surprised Jughead again though and pretending that it was the most normal thing in the world. She continued with her conversation with Joaquin about a book that they had both read, but pressed herself harder against Jughead. He felt her squeeze her thighs together and rub against him.

_Ah ha, so I do effect you, Betty Cooper._

He continued to push back on her and ran his hands up and down her legs. She rolled her hips back and his hands snapped to them, holding her there. If she continued, there was no telling where they might end up. 

_“Not here, Betty Cooper.”_

She tilted her head back and gave Jughead the most “fuck me” eyes he had ever seen, but turned around and relaxed her body against his.

_Finally._

Jughead zoned back in to hear Cheryl yapping on about a Halloween party she was hosting the following weekend. 

“And of course you're all invited. I can’t believe you didn’t know about this! Betty Boop, why didn’t you tell your boys about my party?”

“Well one, because they aren’t my boys,” Betty started. “And two, we—“

“Aren’t even talking,” everyone said at the same time.

“Right,” Betty blushed. “Jughead Jones, there’s a Halloween party at Cheryl’s next weekend. Attendance is mandatory.”

“Aren’t they not talking?” Fangs whispered. 

“Obviously they’re fucking talking, Fangs,” Toni said.

“Oh! I’m excited for a party! Boss Man, can we were matching costumes?” Sweet Pea asked.

“Pea, no one wears matching costumes anymore,” Jughead sighed, pulling Betty tighter against him.

“Uh… we do,” all three girls said.

“We go as something sexy every year, Jones. So you’d better take back what you said about no one wearing them anymore,” Veronica said, hands on her hips.

“Fine! Matching costumes are great and I’ll match with you Pea!” Jughead yelled. “But can we go now? It’s late and I’m cold and Boss Lady has my jacket.” Jughead gently moved Betty off of him so he could open the doors and let the others in so they could drive off. 

Betty grabbed the aux cord before Cheryl could this time, and put on the same Portugal. The Man song they had been listening to the first day he picked her up. They held hands as he drove and he listened to the site mumblings of his friends in the back of the car.

It wasn't very often that his friends were ever open or honest with people. In fact, it was hard for them to trust anyone because of the way they had been brought up. But some how three Northside angles snuck into their heads and got them all to open up and be themselves outside of a dingy bar. 

They got to the Wyrm and everyone hopped out. Sweet Pea came over to the passenger side door and knocked twice on the window. Betty rolled it down and Sweet Pea leaned through and pounded Jughead’s fist. 

“See you tomorrow, Boss Man,” he said. He pulled himself back out of the window and kissed Betty’s cheek, “Boss Lady,” he said to her and pretended to tip an imaginary hat. 

He walked away and Jughead rolled up the window. They drove out of the lot and in silence back to Betty’s. Jughead knew that they could talk about anything, that they were talking about anything. The last two weeks had taught him that he didn’t need to be in constant conversation with Betty Cooper. They moved around each other magnetically. They could speak without speaking.

It was like he could read her mind.

They pulled onto Elm St. and Jughead parked in the spot he knew she liked him to park in and cut the engine. Betty grabbed his hand and held it tight between both of hers. 

“What?” Jughead asked. “Are you okay?”

She nodded her head yes, but kept her eyes down. “Don’t,” she started, “don’t run, okay? I’m not scared of you. I’m not scared of what I saw. But I am scared of you running. So just, don’t, okay?”

He looked at her beautiful green eyes and wanted to scoop out all of the fear and sadness and replace it with love and reassurance.

He lifted both of her hands and kissed them softly, using the kisses to punctuate his words. 

“I, Beanie Boy/Jughead Jones, promise to not run. Not from you. Not ever.” Then he kissed the inside of her wrist and whispered, “I’m scared of you running too.”

“I won’t!” She said, shaking her head furiously.

“I know,” he replied, stilling her face. “Go inside, I’ll see you in the morning. And you can pester me with questions the whole ride.”

She nodded her head and jumped out. She walked around to the drivers side and shrugged off his jacket. She handed it to him and he threw it lazily on the front seat.

Betty looked at him with mischief in her eyes and said, “you know, there is one thing I really missed hearing you say these last two week.”

“Oh?”

“Mhmm,” she hummed. She picked up his hand that was resting on the window ledge. “See you in the morning, Jughead Jones.”

_This little minx._

He lifted her hand to his lips and placed a sensual kiss to her knuckles, then flipped open her hand and placed one on her palm, then another on her wrist. He kept his lips there so that he could mumble the following words against her skin,

“Until then, Betty Cooper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloweeeeeeen is coming!! Any ideas as to what they will be? 
> 
> Pleaseeee don't kill be because they haven't kissed. But I can tell you that they won't kiss for at least another chapter so! 
> 
> Enjoy the sexual tension!
> 
> Be safe and healthy.
> 
> Come tumble with me and we can talk about anything and keep each other company during this time (AND FOUR WEEK SPELL SANS RIVERALE) @blackberry-bee
> 
> XX  
> BB


	8. You Can't Get Me Off Your Mind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Holy fucking shit,” Sweet Pea whispered next to him. Jughead could only nod. He didn’t realize he had walked forward until he was standing on the step below Betty. He didn’t wait to say anything, but lifted her up from just above her knees and carried her down and away from the stairs. She slid slowly down his body until her feet were firmly planted on the ground and their chests were pressed against each other. He didn’t care if anyone saw them this time.
> 
> He was going to kiss Betty Cooper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves!  
> I hope your quarantine is going okay and you are staying safe and healthy!
> 
> There's a bit of an introduction to KevQuin in this chapter! I am so excited I got to bring him in now, yay!
> 
> Here is chapter 8!! TONS happening. Also this bad boy is my first 10k+ chapter!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just like writing them. This is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

_Don’t Call Me Angel— Arianna Grande, Miley Cyrus, Lana Del Rey_

There was a lot going on that week.

To start, it was spirit week, and Betty, being one of the cheer team co-captains and overall “I can help plan anything,” girl, was swamped in blue and gold crepe paper and making signs telling people what to dress up as and when.

Most years, Betty spearheaded all of these projects alone, but this year she had a new set of friends who were not eager to help her tape said crepe paper to the ceilings (except for Sweet Pea, who wanted to be wrapped up in it in the end), but had to, because she declared it.

Homecoming was also that week, which meant Betty didn’t work a single Pop’s shift in order to practice everyday for three hours the routine they would be doing during the halftime show in the game.

(Which meant she received half-finished strawberry milkshakes in to-go cups with badly drawn [yet well intended] hearts all over them.)

Betty was used to spirit week hell. In fact, she was used to everything about it, save for the fact that a group of well intended Serpents now loitered in the bleachers during cheer practice, and Cheryl had to threaten to kick them out at least four times a day.

But homecoming also meant Archie. In past years, Betty would have died to go to the homecoming dance with him. However, this year, Betty would be going with a very reluctant, very sexy, Serpent leader, Jughead Jones.

When she managed to get him to go, she didn’t remember. All she knew was they were sitting at lunch, Betty still on Sweet Pea’s lap, talking about the dance when she was removed from Pea’s lap and dropped into Jughead’s.

The craziest thing that Betty was still getting used to in all of this was... Jughead. He still picked her up from school and brought her breakfast and took her to class and all of the things he usually did, except it was... more now. His touches were more obvious, he held her hand in the hall, kissed her cheek between classes, threw his arm around her shoulder at lunch, and even moved her from her place on Sweet Pea’s lap to his and fed her random bites of food.

She tried to act normal, and not like her whole body was butterflies 100% of the time.

She also tried to act like she didn’t care that they didn’t have a label, when she was ten seconds away from doodling “Mrs. Beanie Boy” in all of her notes.

The topic of the Homecoming dance and Cheryl’s party came up during lunch that Monday.

“Boys, and TT, you have to be at my house at 2:30pm to help us set up for the Halloween party. Then we can all get ready and have an amazing time!” She sang the last part. “For the homecoming dance, you can handle picking us up how you’d like. Except for Betty. She’ll be here the whole day.”

“Thank you, Cheryl, for explaining out our lives,” Jughead said sarcastically, popping a fry into Betty’s mouth. “But don’t worry about me and Betty, we’re all squared away, we’ll meet up with you later.”

“We will?” Betty asked. The was the first time she had heard of any of these plans. Not that she was opposed, but she was trying to figure out when Jughead had decided that they were going on a date.

“Yes, Betty Cooper, we talked about it this morning.” He said this slowly, like she was five and unable to grasp such a simple concept.

She twisted around so she was facing him. “When?”

“When?! When I said, Betty Cooper, you’re mine this weekend,” he replied with a smirk.

The whole table broke out into a cacophony of “oooh’s” and Betty’s face became a tomato and she twisted back around so she was facing their friends. 

“I thought you meant _this_ weekend. You know, like the one we just had,” she trailed off, tapping the table.

“Betty Cooper,” he said in almost a scolding tone, “obviously I meant _all_ weekends.” Then he picked lifted her and stood the both of them up. “I need to run back to the Wyrm to handle something. I’ll be back to pick you up.” He kissed her on her cheek and then nodded his head at Sweet Pea, “Pea,” he commanded. 

“Copy that,” Sweet Pea said. He gave the rest of the table a salut. Then he lifted Veronica’s hand, kissed it and said, “see you later, sunshine. And you’ll be my weekend date too, yeah?”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Veronica responded, but she smirked at him and gave him a small wink. 

Jughead squeezed Betty’s shoulder before turning on his heel and walking away with Sweet Pea. Betty stared at them until they were out of the cafeteria doors. 

_What the hell did he mean when he said_ all _weekends? And what is he doing that requires him to leave, again, in the middle of the school day. And what was Sweet Pea holding in his hands when they walked away? And most importantly, what am I to you, Jughead Jones?_

“Earth to Bethany,” Toni snapped in front of her face. “You still in there, or are you stuck in the recesses of Jughead’s ass.”

“Boss Lady,” she said loudly.

 _”Anyway,”_ Cheryl emphasized, “Jughead’s ass aside, we need to discuss plans for this week. Free period? Blue and Gold? I’ll bring snacks.”

“How are you going to get snacks in here between now and free period?” Joaquin questioned.

“Oh my sweet Quin,” Cheryl replied, reaching across the table and squeezing his hand, “I can do anything.” At that, Cheryl stood up and kissed Toni on the nose and walked away, swaying her hips, which was definitely for Toni’s benefit.

“Now who’s in the recesses of someone’s ass?” Betty asked.

“Me,” Toni said mischievously, “later tonight.”

Before Betty, or anyone else for that matter, could get a word in edgewise, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Her next class was calculus, but Betty had no intention to actually doing any work or paying any sort of attention to what was going on. She was going to take this time to finish her, “Things I Need To Grill Jughead Jones About,” list, so she could pepper him with questions while they went for a drive. Betty didn’t have to work after cheer practice that night, so they had plans to drive around Riverdale and ask all of the questions they had for each other.

She sat down at the back of the room. Her desk was empty, because usually Sweet Pea sat next to her and mooched off of her answers, (but actually also needed her help to catch up).

She pulled out her notebook, poised to take extensive notes on vectors and graphs, but in reality wrote down in the header—

**Things I Need To Grill Jughead Jones About:**

Why do you live above a bar?  
Who is the little girl in all of the photos in your apartment?  
Who the hell is the guy in your back office*  
*is that where you disappeared to after lunch today?**  
**actually is this the reason you leave school early in general?  
What is your favorite color?  
What’s your favorite book?  
What is your least favorite food?  
Where did you grow up?  
What’s your favorite song?  
Why do I spend the majority of lunch on Sweet Pea’s lap?  
What are your other two names?  
What’s your favorite thing to do?  
Do you actually like strawberry milkshakes?  
_What are we?_

That last one Betty had wanted to ask since they got in the argument over ice cream weeks ago. Because, who argues with someone they just met like that if they didn’t have real feelings for them?

Betty knew that her feelings for Jughead were larger than just a crush now. But she didn’t know enough about him to know what those feelings really were. The majority of their relationship was silent and chaste in its physicality. She didn’t know much about him, and she knew he didn’t know much about her. There were a few things that he might have caught on to while their silent, sexy cold war though...

Like that she called her mom Alice. This only existed in her head and in the company of her friends, but nevertheless, she called her Alice.

She also believed that he caught onto the fact that she wasn’t a virgin. The day of the end of the silent cold war, they were all sitting at lunch talking about what their favorite things to do in the summer were, and what they had done the summer before. Cheryl, who was very used to their inner-circle knowing about Betty’s drunken sexual mistake said, “you should ask Betty Boop who—“

“Boss Lady!” Betty shrieked as Cheryl and Veronica slapped their hands over Cheryl’s mouth. 

It really wasn’t all that often that Betty exercised the “Boss Lady” card, but that was one where it was absolutely warranted. 

Later that night when they were finishing up cheer practice, Cheryl body slammed Betty into the mat and peppered her face in kisses, trying desperately to apologize and seek forgiveness. After Betty was able to flip them over so she and Cheryl were laying side by side on the mat, and Betty could assure Cheryl that it was okay, they burst into fits of giggles at the situation.

“You know, I think you like this whole ‘Boss Lady’ thing,” Cheryl said, pushing herself up on her forearms and smirking at Betty.

“What the fuck do you mean? It’s obnoxious and I can’t believe it even began in the first place!”

“But, Betty Boop, _you’re_ the one who started the whole ‘I call Boss Lady!’ thing. They were all joking around before you made it serious. I think you like it. It means he ‘possesses’ you in some way. It’s nice. To see you so taken care of, even if it is silent and weird.” Cheryl laid back down and grabbed Betty’s hand and squeezed hard. “What even are you two doing, anyway? Why aren’t you talking?”

Betty sighed. The age old question. Why wasn’t she talking to Jughead? “Basically, I saw him doing something bad. And I’m afraid to talk to him because I think if I do, he’ll run. And I think he’s afraid of the same thing.”

Cheryl was silent for almost a full minute. “So let me get this straight,” she said, sitting up all the way now, “you guys aren’t talking because you’re afraid of the other leaving you even though you’re not ‘technically’ together?”

Betty shut her eyes and nodded.

“Elizabeth Anne Cooper!” Cheryl screamed, slapping her leg. “That is actually the dumbest thing I have ever heard. And I’ve listened to Reggie try to give a book talk.” 

When Betty didn’t respond and just continued to lay there with her eyes shut, Cheryl slapped her again and pulled her to her feet. 

“Come on, Boss Lady,” she said, winking, “we’re showing up at the Wyrm tonight.”

“We can’t just show up, Cher. He told me to text him before I just walk in again. And we aren’t texting. So if I just show up, he’ll flip out.”

 _“That’s the fucking point, Betty Boop.”_ She patted Betty’s cheek and said, “now come on, we need to get V and put you in something conservatively sinful.”

Though she was outwardly reluctant, she followed anyway, insides brimming with excitement. 

So that was how Cheryl outed her status of virginity and brought Betty and Jughead back together.

* * *

Tall Boy met Sweet Pea and Jughead at the back door of the Wyrm and gave them an update about Dorian.

“The kid started talking. I think he finally realized that after two weeks that you all meant business. _And_ that his boss doesn’t give two fucks about him.”

 _Right, two weeks,_ Jughead thought. The start of what was the longest (yet somehow shortest) two weeks of his life. Betty not talking to him (and he not talking to her) was something out of that damn Jane Austen novel she carried around. 

_Since when were chaste kisses and soft caresses the thing that got me the most turned on?_

He thought back to this morning when Betty asked him to “hang out” after cheer practice so she could ask him a bunch of questions and he could ask her and they could listen to music and eat Pop’s on the hood of his car.

It was all so completely normal.

Not.

He was pissed that he had to leave school early because it meant that he couldn’t hang out with all of them (Betty) and help them (Betty) and talk to them (Betty!) until after school. Sweet Pea on the other hand was elated that he got to miss calculus, even though he was falling behind and Betty was his saving grace.

She was everyone’s saving grace.

She also kind of adopted this “Boss Lady” thing which was incredibly hot and totally fine by Jughead. It felt like he had some sort of hold on her that the others didn’t. It differentiated his relationship with her from her relationship with Sweet Pea which was something he didn’t know he needed.

“... that there’s a party happening at the end of the week that the football players are putting together. Malachi himself won’t be there but he’s planning on having his RHS kid deal while it’s happening.” Jughead snapped to at the word “party.” 

_Cheryl’s party? No. He said football party._

“Okay,” Sweet Pea said slowly, “so we make it known that we’ll be at the party. That way, if Malachi is stupid enough to still send this kid out, we’ll find him.” 

“Right,” Tall Boy said. “But he was also talking about another party at the Blossom kid’s mansion on Saturday night.”

Sweet Pea and Jughead looked at each other, but said nothing.

A realization dawned on Jughead. “But wait,” he said, “if Dorian has been locked up in the back office for two and a half weeks now, how does he have all of this information?”

“Beats me,” Tall Boy shrugged. “All he said was he’d only talk to you about it.”

Jughead stood perfectly still as he thought through the whole thing. He had questions he needed to ask Cheryl, but needed to do it without tipping anyone off. And he needed to find a way to make it obvious that him and his friends were going to be at that football party after the Homecoming dance. 

He also needed to find a way to fill in his friends (all of them) on what was going on.

“Okay,” Jughead said, “here’s what we do.”

And from there, the plan was devised.

As Jughead and Sweet Pea drove back to school, a million thoughts and ideas came forth and from their minds.

“Okay does Cheryl actually have this party every year? Or is there a mole?” Sweet Pea asked, twirling his brass knuckles around his fingers.

“No mole,” Jughead stated, running his hands through his hair. He had tossed his beanie in the back seat after it kept falling off in his nervous actions. They all had their things that tipped of how they were actually feeling in a situation. Fangs swayed from foot to foot, Sweet Pea twirled things around his fingers, Joaquin babbled about random things that came to his mind (usually book related), Toni paced, and Jughead... well Jughead pulled out his hair.

“There isn’t a mole. All of this stuff probably happens every year. Cheryl is a creature of habit, so there is no doubt in my mind that this had been planned from the start.”

“Still,” Sweet Pea exhaled, “we should move the kid from the back office. I don’t want to keep him in one spot anymore. We could move him to an empty apartment upstairs. If someone is going to try and jail break him, they’re going to expect him to be in a back room or basement, not in one of the spots upstairs.”

Jughead nodded his head in agreement. His mind was just about to go through another panic spiral when his phone dinged.

“I swear to the fucking god I don’t believe in, if Tall Boy texts me one more time...”

“It’s not Tall Boy,” Sweet Pea said. The tone of his voice made it almost impossible to not get scared.

“What?” Jughead asked frantically. “Is it Malachi? Did something happen?”

“It actually might be worst than Malachi,” Sweet Pea said. “Pull over.”

Jughead drove a couple more minutes before turning off onto a dirt road that led to the Sunnyside trailer park. He didn’t even realize that he had pulled up in front of the lot where he had grown up until he killed the engine and looked out the window.

The trailer was still there, but it looked like it had come out of the ground. It sunk maybe half a foot into the ground, and brambles, thorns and leaves were climbing up the sides. The old wooden steps and small porch had detached from the side of the trailer, and it looked like the wood had rotted through and was no longer stable. 

There were some characteristics Jughead noticed were still the same. Like the back window still had the stickers that Jellybean stuck there the day their mom took them so Jughead “wouldn’t forget her.” The door still had “JONES” painted on with black spray paint, and the crown, his signature tag, was still barely visible over the ‘O’ where he had put it in yellow when he was fourteen. There were even a few glass beer bottles on the ground by the steps where his dad had left them the day he got arrested, the shards of broken glass right next to the pile where Jughead had thrown them against the trailer in panic, anger and overwhelming sadness. 

You could even see the slight dents and scratches that the cracked glass left behind.

His dad’s old bike was still sitting there too, probably unrideable now, becoming a reminder of what was and never would be. FP was supposed to teach him how to ride for his sixteenth birthday, an empty promise and plan that Jughead had held on tight to, even after his dad had been taken away, just before his birthday.

Jughead made a promise to go back to the trailer and clean it up a bit, tear down the porch, pick up the beer bottles and glass, and maybe even try to get the bike running again. He wasn’t much of a mechanic, but he knew his way around an oil change and some light engine work.

“Are we getting out?” Sweet Pea asked. 

“No,” Jughead sighed. “Let’s see what this text is about.”

It didn’t occur to him as odd that Sweet Pea would have received the same text message that he did. He didn’t think anything of it, much less why Sweet Pea would be so adamant about Jughead reading it and the scared tone in his voice. He figured it was probably something having to do with his dad, and maybe that’s why he’d driven to the trailer park.

But no, Sweet Pea was right. It was much worse than Tall Boy. Maybe even worse than his dad.

**New Group Chat; 8 members— 1:47pm**

**Unknown Number— 1:47pm:** _Hello my lovely friends. I just wanted to remind you of our plans for the next week. Please see text below._

 _There is no fucking way..._ Jughead thought.

 **Unknown Number— 1:49pm:**  
_1\. Cheer practice tonight and every night until the day of the Homecoming game on Thursday night. Then, practice is all morning._

_2\. All free periods/times/moments when you all don’t have to be at the Wyrm doing Serpent things will be spent with us, prepping for the dance! Yay!_

_3\. Apparently Jughead is bringing Betty Boop to the dance which means he will not be meeting me at Thistle house and going to the dance together. (Betty did not know about this until today)._

_4\. There is a bonfire party at some football player’s house after the game on Friday night. WE ARE NOT GOING!_

_5\. I expect everyone to be at my house on Saturday to help set up for the Halloween party. I will provide all food and shit for the party. Jughead and Sweet Pea if you each need extra individual pies, please let me know now._

_6\. It is a Halloween party so everyone is dressing up as per discussed at lunch today. Fangs, adding a pair of sunglasses to your current look DOES NOT COUNT._

_I think that is all for now! I will keep you updated with more things as they come up! xoxoxox CB!_

Jughead sat in the car, phone having dropped to his lap. “Did she?” He asked in a whisper.

“She did,” Sweet Pea said back. 

They sat there silently for a few more minutes before Jughead rubbed his hands across his face and groaned.

“This is the worst thing to happen to me since Dorian,” Sweet Pea sighed. “Why would she do this?”

“I never thought I’d be so against a group chat but here the fuck we are!” Jughead said, his voice getting louder and louder as he reached the end of his sentence.

“On the upside,” Sweet Pea said, “now I have Veronica’s number.”

Jughead still said nothing. He had already gotten pissed at Cheryl for scheduling their lives at lunch that day, but now she was able to contact him whenever? Who had given her his number? The only two people he could successfully rule out were Veronica and Sweet Pea considering Veronica didn’t have his number and Sweet Pea was just as shocked as he was when Cheryl Fucking Blossom added all of them to a group chat.

“Why did she say we aren’t going to that football party?” Jughead mused out loud. “Do you think it has something to do with Betty and Archie?”

“Probably,” Sweet Pea said, fiddling with his phone. “Aha! I have it saved now,” he said triumphantly. 

“Have what saved?” 

“Her number Jug. Veronica’s number.”

“Okay, but how do you know it’s Veronica’s and not Betty’s?”

“Because I’ve had Betty’s number since that night at the Wyrm.”

“You... what?”

“Yeah. She gave it to me when we were at her house before going to Pop’s in case I needed to call her and hurry her up,” Sweet Pea said slowly. He could feel how tense his body got when Sweet Pea mentioned already having Betty’s number. 

“I’m sorry, man,” Jughead exhaled. “I’m obviously on edge. I’m glad you have _both_ of their number’s. It honestly makes me feel better.”

Before Sweet Pea could say anything, a stream of texts came flooding in.

 **Joaquin DeSantos— 1:54pm:** _I am morally opposed to group chats can someone please remove me._

 **Cheryl Blossom— 1:54pm:** _Nope! You’re stuck in here, sweet Quin._

 **Joaquin DeSantos— 1:56pm:** _You can’t keep calling me that._

 **Cheryl Blossom— 1:57pm:** _Yes I can_

 **Betty Cooper— 1:58pm:** _Can you two please stop text fighting? Quin, she’s not going to remove you. Cher, stop calling him sweet, or I’ll start telling everyone what your favorite movie is._

 **Cheryl Blossom— 1:58pm:** _You wouldn’t._

 **Sweet Pea— 2:00pm:** _I have a question!_

 **Cheryl Blossom— 2:01pm:** _What?_

 **Unknown Number— 2:01pm:** _What?_

 **Fangs Fogarty— 2:01pm:** _What?_

 **Betty Cooper— 2:01pm:** _What?_

 **Toni Topaz— 2:01pm:** _What?_

 **Sweet Pea— 2:03pm:** _What?_

 **Sweet Pea— 2:04pm:** _Oh right_

 **Sweet Pea— 2:04pm:** _Well actually it’s 3 questions._

 **Sweet Pea— 2:05pm:** _1\. Why are we in this group chat, Red? It’s bad enough I have to watch Jughead and Betty in person but now I will have to read texts between the two of them? Gross. I propose we create a group chat without them._

_2\. Why aren’t we going to that football party I want to do that it seems very fun why are you taking fun from me Red??_

_3\. Veronica wanna go to homecoming with me?_

“Did you just ask Veronica on a date to Homecoming? In a group chat? With seven other people?” Jughead asked Sweet Pea, eyes wide.

“Yep,” he said completely unashamed, “I also threw in the football party so you can bring it up later. ‘Demand’ we go or whatever.”

_Right. Because I can demand things front people._

**Veronica Lodge— 2:12pm:** _Do better._

Jughead chuckled as he read Veronica’s text and gauged Sweet Pea’s reaction, but all he saw were his thumbs moving rapidly across his phone’s screen and a cheeky grin spread across his face.

* * *

“What’s your favorite color?” Betty asked while dipping her fries into the ketchup Jughead brought.

“Maroon,” he answered simply. He could tell his answer took her by surprise because she let go of the fry and let it hang in small container. “What were you expecting it to be?”

“I don’t know,” she said, staring at him, “black? Or maybe green?”

“Nah, those are colors I live around all the time. Maroon is something I don’t have to think about, it’s just, there. Does that make sense?”

_No absolutely not but never stop saying “maroon,” Jughead Jones._

“No but, I can appreciate it,” she said. She continued dipping her fry into the sauce and said, “your turn.”

“Easy. What’s your middle name?”

“Why do you want to know my middle name so badly?” Betty questioned.

“Because I like the way your name sounds when I say it completely. It’s like, taking a bite out of something and feeling it fully fill you up.”

She tried not to swoon. “You have a way with words, Jughead Jones.” She finally took the mutilated fry out of the ketchup and popped it in her mouth. “It’s Anne.”

He didn’t say anything, just continued to drink the milkshake they were splitting. He handed it back to her while saying, “your turn.”

She took a long sip and then put the to-go cup in the center console cup holder. “Why do you live above the Wyrm?”

“Also easy. I used to live in a trailer with my dad before he was arrested, but moved out after. All of the Serpents spend a good amount of time at the Wyrm, so I moved into one of the apartments there. There are like, four other vacant ones for people to use if they’re too drunk or need some space or got evicted or something.”

“So basically you live there because you’re a good person,” Betty said staring at him.

“Something like that,” he said. Betty bit her lip at the intensity of his gaze and looked away. “Okay, she exhaled,” turning back to him, “your turn.”

He took her lip out of her mouth and smoothed the ridges that her teeth left and asked, “why do you call your mom, Alice?”

Betty knew this question was coming, but she was dreading it. It meant she would have to go into the before, the part that she folded neatly into squares and buried in the back yard, only to be excised in the future like a time capsule.

“I call her Alice because I called her ‘mom’ in the before. And I don’t live in the before anymore.”

Jughead took a moment to think about this. It didn’t seem like he was gathering his words, but more like he was trying to give her some space to breathe before he pressed on. 

“Where do you live now?”

Betty exhaled and looked up from her hands. “I live in the now.”

Jughead nodded and grabbed her hand, playing with her fingers and every so often twisting the ring that lay on her left pointer finger. 

“Okay, your turn,” he said. “Hit me with your best shot. I have to get you back in a bit.”

Right. Back. Back to Alice and changing into her pink and yellow sweater set in the back of Jughead’s Jeep. Back to hiding her smiles when he shared a meme with her on Instagram. Back to a small meal of turkey or chicken and greens with no starch and no carbs outside of the ones in a vegetable.

“I have two more,” she said, holding up two fingers. “Please?” She made her eyes a bit bigger and looked up at him. She noticed that she made this face she got what she wanted. It was like calling “Boss Lady” with her eyes.

“Ugh, fine,” he said with a fake frown. She could see his smile breaking through and she clapped her hands excitedly. 

“My two questions are: did you leave school today to deal with something related to what I saw that night? And what do you like to do for fun?”

“Well I think you actually know the answer to the first question, but I will confirm it for you since I know you won’t drop it. Yes, I had to deal with something having to do with him. I found out that he has some connection to someone at school and I needed to find out why.

“And for your second question, I like to write. And I am going to catch you on a technicality here before you can catch me. There are no follow ups allowed. You can add them to the list.”

“What list!” She yelled.

“Betty Cooper, I know you have a running list of questions for me. I have a running list for you too.”

“Ugh,” she huffed. She continued to pout until he kissed her cheek and said,

“Go change. I don’t want you to get into any trouble.” He was about to grab the milkshake but Betty got to it first, drinking the rest in one gulp and slamming the empty cup back in the holder.

“Get out then,” she mumbled. He laughed and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her in and kissing her forehead.

She changed back into her Alice Approved Outfit and got back in the passenger seat. Jughead jumped in too and started the car. She grabbed the AUX cord and put on a Two Door Cinema album and they sat in comfortable silence, holding hands with the music being the only noise between them.

When they pulled up to the end of the street, the designated drop off and pick up point, Jughead faced Betty and asked, “in all openness, Betty Cooper, will you go to Homecoming with me?”

“I thought that was pre-established,” she quipped. Inside though, she was giddy. He was actually asking her to go. Even though she wouldn’t be able to really do much because she had to keep everything moving, he still wanted to be there with her.

“Pre-established, yes. Reinforced, necessary.”

“Of course I’ll go with you. Even though I will be staying at school to set everything up, I’ll barely even have time to see you.”

“Well then we’ll see each other at the football party,” he said nonchalantly. 

“We aren’t going to the football party.”

“Well me and Pea want to go.”

“You guys can go then.”

“Betty Cooper, please?” 

“Why do you want to go so bad?” She asked. He looked away, and if she didn’t know him as well as she did (two weeks of no talking will do that to someone), she would have missed the guilty look that crossed his face. 

“Look, there’s something that is going on with what you saw last week that I can’t tell you about because I don’t have enough information but I need to be at that party. You don’t need to be there, but... I want you there.”

Betty wasn’t expecting him to be so honest about what was going on. He was the king of silent observation and she didn’t know what to think.

“Okay,” she said while squeezing his hand, “we’ll go.”

He lifted her hand and kissed her palm, a new thing he had adopted— kissing her palm instead of her knuckles. “7:45?” He asked. 

“6:45, actually. I have to get a head start on all of the things for the week. You don’t have to—”

“Don’t even go there, Betty Cooper. I’ll be here at 6:30, angsty, not enough caffeine, and ready to go to Pop’s for an early morning breakfast.” He didn’t wait for her object before saying, “until then, Betty Cooper.”

//////////

The rest of the week passed in a similar fashion. Betty would be picked up by Jughead at 6:30, where they would go get breakfast from Pop’s and sleepily continue their questioning. She found out that he loved Shakespeare (but wouldn’t admit to it), his favorite food was actually dumplings, but since there wasn’t a good spot for Chinese food in Riverdale he didn’t get them that often. She learned that he loved old vinyl albums and had a record player under his bed, and that his favorite artist was David Bowie, which Betty found incredibly on par with his personality.

She also found out that the girl in all of his pictures was his little sister, Jellybean, and that his mom moved her away to Toledo a few years back. He hadn’t seen or heard from either of them since. She also learned that he had plans to clean up the trailer and fix his dad’s bike up so he could start riding it.

And that’s how Jughead found out that Betty _really_ loved working on cars.

“That might be the hottest thing I’ve heard,” he said around a mouthful of hash browns. “I wasn’t even going to ask you to come with me in fear of embarrassment and subjugation, but now I’m demanding it.” She raised an eyebrow at the word “demand” and he back-peddled quickly. “Not demand! Just ask very convincingly so you can’t say no.”

She learned his dad tried to call but that he wasn’t ready to talk. Especially after becoming friends with Cheryl. He felt guilty about his dad’s role in all of it, and Cheryl placed a cherry-red kiss on his cheek and said, “don’t worry, my dad is the one that did it. Your dad is the one who got caught. We can form a club.”

That didn’t happen.

In addition, at some point during the week, Veronica said she’d go to Homecoming _and_ the football party with Sweet Pea. She didn’t go into the specifics of how he convinced her to say yes to both, but she did. 

Cheryl still had her foot down about not going, even though she was now the only person out of their whole group who wouldn’t be attending.

The homecoming game and subsequent dance was lackluster in its entirety. Betty cheered for the bulldogs (not Archie), hugged some of the players when they lost (not Archie) and then ran away quickly with Cheryl and Veronica to get back in the Blue and Gold to put together the last minute plans and touches to the dance (and to avoid Archie).

The Serpents came in after the game and Jughead picked Betty up and spun her around, whispering about how good she did and how much he enjoyed watching. 

She undoubtedly could feel just how much he enjoyed it too.

It was a mad dash of commands, laughs and near tears, but Betty and the rest got everything finished up for the dance. 

Fortunately, this included Kevin Keller too. 

At risk of being homophobic or just politically incorrect, Betty stayed away from calling him “Riverdale’s Resident Gay.” But yes, Kevin was very gay, very open about it, and _very into_ Joaquin. Who also seemed to be very into Kevin as well. They didn’t talk much (yet), but Betty had a feeling that by the end of a weekend filled with loud music, sweaty bodies and alcohol, that Kevin would become a more prevalent part of their little group. 

On the day of the dance, Jughead met her in the Blue and Gold with a pizza (she mentioned loving an extra cheesy pizza every now and then as an answer to “what’s your guilty pleasure?”), two ginger ales, and of course, a strawberry milkshake. The two of them sat on the couch chomping away and discussing the budding romance between Kevin and Joaquin.

Around 5:30, Cheryl, Veronica and Kevin walked in and shoo’d Jughead out. He placed a greasy kiss to her cheek and walked backwards out of the room, clapping Kevin’s shoulder and giving a quick wave and mocking blown kiss in the girls direction. Just as he was stepping out he sent Betty a wink and turned on his heel, exiting the room.

“Ugh, when are you guys going to kiss already?” Veronica groaned. “It feels like everyone’s surpassed you in terms of basses.”

“I definitely have,” said Cheryl. She winked at Betty and opened up her make-up box. “Sit,” she said, pointing at the desk. Betty heaved herself off the couch and walked over. 

Once she sat down she said, “it’s not that I don’t want to kiss him, or even that he doesn’t want to kiss me. It’s just, I think we want to know each other more before we do anything. It’s different.”

“That’s boring. But when you _do_ fuck it’s going to be explosive. Full details will happen _immediately_ after,” Cheryl said.

“Cheryl!” Betty exclaimed.

“What? I’m just saying what everyone’s thinking.”

“Moving on,” Veronica said, “Kev, how is it getting to know Joaquin?”

Kevin blushed, something that Betty wasn’t used to. “I plead the fifth. I’m not talking about it until I know more myself.”

“See!” Betty yelled.

“Hmph,” Veronica huffed. “Well I kissed Sweet Pea already, so I guess I’ll go into that. Betty before you flip it was literally yesterday and you’ve been in robot Homecoming mode, so I didn’t say anything.”

Betty sat there open-mouthed, waiting for Veronica to finish. 

“He wouldn’t shut up about wanting to take me out and all of this and I couldn’t think of anything other than how sweet and beautiful he is so I jumped him. Literally. Our first kiss was me literally pressed against his truck in the school parking lot after the game.”

“Wow,” Betty said, “that’s hot.”

Veronica sighed, “it was.”

They all laughed and continued to get ready. Betty was wearing a black dress that stopped at her knees and slightly puffed out at her waist. She denied Cheryl’s request (demand) for heels and stuck with black flats, and had her hair parted at the side and smoothed down, letting it fall straight down her back. Cheryl was obviously in a red short dress with a plunging mesh neckline and very high red heels. Veronica was wearing a floor length plum dress with black lace on the edges and black heels. 

Betty thought they looked beautiful.

Sweet Pea did too apparently. 

“My ladies!” He yelled while sauntering in. He was wearing a white button down shirt with a blazer on top and looked pretty good himself. “You are looking HOT. Too bad I only have two arms, or I’d take all three of you.”

“Sweet Pea,” Jughead said from behind him. “Shut up.”

Betty almost threw herself up against Jughead right then and there. He was wearing the same thing as Sweet Pea, but he looked so beautiful standing against the door, arms crossed and staring back at her.

“Hi,” she said when he walked over to her.

“Hello, beautiful,” he said with a smile. “Are you ready?”

“I am,” she said back. He kissed her forehead and pulled her close. Kevin walked over to the door and pulled the blind down and locked it. He produced a bottle of cheap tequila from his bag and neon plastic shot glasses, and poured all nine of them a shot. He passed them out and held his in the air and nodding at Cheryl to give a toast.

“To Betty Boop, the best one of us. She got this all together and cheered at the game _perfectly_ and still found time to make google-y eyes at Jughead.”

“To Boss Lady!” Everyone said and knocked their shot back. While each of the Serpents and Kevin made a face, Cheryl, Veronica and Betty grabbed the bottle and each took another swig, completely straight faced.

“How the fuck do you do that!” Fangs yelled.

“Margaritas,” all three of them and Jughead said.

“Let’s get this homecoming show on the road,” Betty said, grabbing Jughead’s hand. They stashed the bottle and used cups in Kevin’s bag, unlocked the door and all walked out. 

This was the first dance that Betty would be going to without Archie. It felt good. It felt normal.

It was the now.

The dance was nice and Betty was proud of the work she had done, but it wasn’t really what she wanted to be doing. She wanted to leave the gym and it’s gold crepe paper and go to Pop’s with her friends and get drunk off of spiked milkshakes and greasy burgers.

Jughead walked up to her, breaking her train of thought. “Hey there, Betty Cooper. Wanna dance?” He held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to lead her to the dance floor.

He put his hands on her waist and she put hers around his neck. 

“Hi,” he whispered, “you look beautiful.”

“You said that.”

“I meant it,” he said with a smile. She must not have kept the worried look off her face because he said, “talk to me, Betty Cooper.”

Betty sighed and said, “I just don’t want to go to this party, okay? It’s been freaking me out all week. I just, I can’t go.”

He nodded and said, “okay easy. Pea and I will go and when we will meet the rest of you at Pop’s. We just need to see if there is a contact for the guy at Riverdale there. If we can’t find anything we’ll leave.”

“What?”

“What?” He asked back.

“Just like that. No question? No argument?”

“Betty Cooper, if something makes you anxious, then I won’t make you do it. End of story.” He kissed her cheek and forehead softly and whispered, “I only want what’s best for you.” They continued swaying for a minute while she laid her head on his chest.

And that’s when Betty knew for sure she was falling in love with Jughead.

* * *

“So no one was there,” Tall Boy said, repeating what Jughead had just told him.

“No, no one was there. And if they were, they were either really good at hiding the fact they were dealing, or laying low and figuring out who was there. If it was the latter, they probably realized who we were and didn’t pull anything. It was a really small house, so they would be really noticeable if anything did happen.”

“So what’s your next move?” Joaquin asked just as Fangs said, “guys.”

“We wait until tonight at Cheryl’s. It’s a bigger space and more of us will be there. And more people too. They’re bound to make a move tonight, especially if they are supposed to report what they sold.”

“Guys,” Fangs said again. “What are we dressing up as?”

“Oh!” Joaquin exclaimed, speaking up for the first time, “Toni gave me a great idea. It would mean Boss Man has to give up the beanie for a night. And we wouldn’t be wearing our Serpent jackets.”

“Then there is absolutely no way.”

“The Greasers.”

“From Grease?”

“No, from the country. Yes from Grease you dumbass.”

“Why?”

“Well all we would have to do is wear tight white t-shirts under leather jackets. And since we are trying to catch this guy, wearing our Serpent jackets doesn’t make sense, but wearing regular old plain leather jackets will keep us ‘undercover’ so to speak, but isn’t completely out of our wheelhouse. Jug you could even keep a cig in your mouth the entire time.”

He thought about it. It was fairly easy, and aside from losing his beanie it was a really simple solution to this whole “matching costume thing,” that Cheryl was implementing. 

He whipped his phone out of his pocket and texted the god (he doesn’t believe in) forsaken group chat. 

**Jughead Jones— 2:13pm** _Cheryl, we’re going as Greasers. On our way. We need 4 fake leather jackets, we aren’t going to wear ours. Don’t ask. We’ll pick up the pizza if you call it in now.”_

_His phone dinged less than twenty seconds later._

**Cheryl Blossom— 2:13pm** _Done! Yay! You’re the best Jughead Jones!_

He was mid reply when a text from Betty came though, outside of the chat. 

**Betty Cooper— 2:14pm** _You’re going as the Greasers? That seems played out._

**Jughead Jones— 2:14pm** _We’re teenagers in a gang. It’s as cliche as it gets._

**Betty Cooper— 2:17pm** _You forgot the ‘é’ at the end of ‘cliché.’_

**Jughead Jones— 2:19pm** _We’re texting, Betty Cooper._

**Betty Cooper— 2:26pm** _It’s sloppy!_

**Jughead Jones— 2:32pm** _We’re coming over now. I’ll show you sloppy later._

He exited their texts and fired off one more to Cheryl letting her know they were leaving. Sweet Pea rode with Jughead in his Jeep while Toni, Fangs and Joaquin took Joaquin’s car. 

The others made it to Cheryl’s first because the didn’t get the pizza, so Jughead also stopped and Pop’s and grabbed a strawberry shake too. He drove in silence with Sweet Pea next to him, taking small sips of the shake while they were on their way. 

“Why do you guys do that?” Sweet Pea asked suddenly. 

“Do what?” Jughead asked, putting the shake in the cup holder. 

“Share strawberry milkshakes. You don’t even like strawberry milkshakes.” 

“No,” Jughead said, “I don’t. But I really like the girl who really likes the strawberry milkshakes.” 

That was somehow enough of an answer for Sweet Pea. They turned off onto the paved road that led to Cheryl‘s house. Jughead had been there once before when dropping off Betty after work one night, so he was expecting the house’s grand entry way and perfectly manicured gardens. There was even a large deck with a huge hot tub and an in-ground pool just off to the side of the house. 

“Right,” Sweet Pea exhaled, unbuckling his seat belt, “Blossom.” 

“Blossom,” Jughead confirmed. 

He could hear the pounding music before he even reached the front door. Jughead and Sweet Pea shot each other a look, almost as if to say, _we can still run,_ but Betty opened the door with a smile. 

“Hey Coop!” Sweet Pea said while giving her a hug. “How’s uh, how’s it going?” 

“It’s... going. I’ve already had two margaritas and I’ve cut myself off because I need pizza and is that a strawberry milkshake!? Oh Jughead Jones you know the way to my heart did Cheryl get veggie pizza too because she told me she was going to but then never confirmed an—“ 

“Okay, Coop. C’mon.” Sweet Pea threw Betty over his shoulder and walked her into the house. She propped her elbows against his back and waved to Jughead like it was the first time she’d seen him. He caught up to them and stuck the straw from the milkshake into her mouth and watched her eyes close in bliss. 

“Okay! Lots of pizzas and one tipsy Coop, delivered by yours truly.” Jughead put down the pizzas while Sweet Pea gently lowered Betty on the ground. Jughead grabbed her before she fell over and she leaned back into him. 

“It looks like a party over here,” Jughead said. There were Halloween decorations everywhere and a crazy number of speakers. “Is that DJ equipment, Cheryl?” 

“Yes,” she said with a serious nod. 

“Well okay then.” 

“What do you need us to do first, babe?” Toni asked her. 

“Eat. I haven’t eaten since yesterday and I am in desperate need of pizza to soak up this booze.” 

“You guys sure do drink a lot,” Fangs said, imitating the voice of Morty from “Rick and Morty.” 

“We sure do, Fangsy,” she said, throwing an evil glance in his direction. 

“Anyway,” Toni said, redirecting Cheryl’s attention. “What do you need us to do after we eat?” 

“The house just needs to look spooky. Like if Vanessa Hudgens was doing it.” 

“Got it,” Toni said with a smile. 

So they ate and drank and talked about where they were going to set things up and how they were going to do it. Cheryl explained where the off-limits places were and how they were only off-limits for guests (they were apparently not guests). Cheryl and Joaquin also explained who Vanessa Hudgens was to a very confused Sweet Pea and Betty leaned her back against Jughead’s knees and munched in three pieces of pizza. 

Slowly but surely they got the house together with the sounds of “Hocus Pocus” on in the background. By the time they were done it was nearly 7:00pm and Cheryl almost blew a gasket. She whisked Betty away from under Jughead’s arms, and he gave her a sympathetic look as she was dragged up the stairs. 

Toni showed the boys where they would be getting dressed. It took them all of twenty minutes to put on a white t-shirt and slick back their hair with gel. They even had tiny, thin combs they were going to keep in their fake leather jackets. They each hung their jackets in a closet and went back downstairs to wait for the girls. 

They were engrossed in the second “Harry Potter” movie when Toni came running down the stairs and whisper yelling, “get your shit together boys. It’s happening.” Jughead didn’t know what that was supposed to mean, but they had been sitting on the couch watching movies for two and a half hours, and he was starting to get pretty aggravated by the lack of Betty Cooper in the room. He heard the telltale sound of people walking down the steps when he looked up from the television. 

He felt his pants immediately tighten but was in too much shock to really do anything about the obvious situation. 

Betty Cooper was standing on the stairs leading back into the entryway, her hair was down her back and in waves. Where it was slick and smooth at Homecoming, here it was wild and crazy and curly and Jughead wanted to fist his hands in it. Her eyes were smokey and brought out their intense emerald green color. Jughead realized his favorite color had changed from maroon in that moment. Her lips were painted crimson and her skin was glowing. 

She was wearing nothing but fishnet tights, a black lace and semi-see-through bodysuit and large, feathery, angel wings. The bodysuit accentuated the shape of her breasts and pushed them together in a way Jughead had never seen. The wings looked soft and inviting and he wondered if she’d be comfortable laying down in them, considering the unspeakable things he wanted to do to her while she was on her back. 

And heels. 

Did he mention the heels? 

Betty fucking Cooper was wearing black patent leather heels and Jughead thought he might die. 

_If I were to die with her stepping on my neck in those, I’d be utterly happy._

“Holy fucking shit,” Sweet Pea whispered next to him. Jughead could only nod. He didn’t realize he had walked forward until he was standing on the step below Betty. He didn’t wait to say anything, but lifted her up from just above her knees and carried her down and away from the stairs. She slid slowly down his body until her feet were firmly planted on the ground and their chests were pressed against each other. He didn’t care if anyone saw them this time. 

He was going to kiss Betty Cooper. 

“Is this your idea of a joke?” Jughead asked, grinding his hips into hers. “Another one of your cruel games?” 

“No,” she breathed. In those heels, she was tall enough to not have to go up onto her tip toes to whisper in his ears. “But am I winning?” 

He wanted to throw her over his shoulder like Sweet Pea did earlier and surrender to the urges that he felt for Betty Cooper. But he wanted to win. Make _her_ beg for it. He liked to be in control. 

“No,” he said back. He let his hands travel from her waist down her sides, tickling her just enough that she squirmed under him. His hands found her perfect ass and he squeezed, making sure to pull her cheeks apart ever-so-slightly. He wanted her to know that while she may be dressed like she was dripping in sex, that he was still in charge here. He still won in the end. 

He squeezed hard and slapped her ass quickly. The he groaned as she stepped away from him. “I need a shot,” he said trying to keep the obvious arousal out of his voice. 

“Okay,” she breathed. She turned and started walking away from him, intentionally swaying her hips and looking over her shoulder while calling, “coming?” 

“Betty Cooper,” he warned, “you did that on purpose.” He caught up to her quickly, grabbing her from behind and crushing her against him. “You look absolutely amazing, you know that?” He pressed into her and placed a featherlight kiss behind her ear. “I might have to have my way with you tonight,” he groaned when she pushed back onto him. 

“Maybe I’ll let you,” she responded. 

He laughed at that and continued to kiss her cheek and make jokes about how long it took for them to get ready. She giggled back as they walked into the kitchen where everyone was gathering around to finish eating and have another drink before people came in. They were still attached, Jughead standing behind her as he hid he obvious erection. He hoped no one would say anything about their compromising position. 

But he forgot his best friend was Sweet Pea. 

“God damn, Coop! Had I known that that’s what you look like under hangover sweatshirts and sweater sets I would have gone after you _ages_ ago. And whatcha hiding there, Jones, little Jug trying to come out and play?” 

Neither Betty nor Jughead could say anything, because Veronica walked right past him and grabbed Sweet Pea’s crotch. He made a half-groan half-moan noise and she said, “shut it, Pea.” He nodded at her and she let go, standing on her tip-toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. He tried to turn his head quickly to catch her lips, but she was faster. She took a step back and lifted herself onto the counter all in one swift move. “You look like sex, Betty,” she said while taking a sip of her drink. 

“She does,” Jughead agreed, unabashedly. “And just for the record, Pea, you tried to get her, remember. She literally fell for you, well on you, and yet here we are.” 

“I am not going to do or say anything for the sole reason that I love Betty like a sister and that I know that between the two of you I could be beat up. Easy.” 

“Correct,” Betty and Jughead said at the same time. 

Kevin and Joaquin appeared from the other room with more neon plastic shot glasses and more tequila. All shots were poured and they all yelled out different things that they were drinking to (Jughead said Betty, Betty said milkshakes), and threw them back. 

It truly was alike a scene from a high school movie. A little after 10:30pm, dozens of kids showed up, all in one form of costume or another, and each carrying a different type of booze. Most had beer or hard liquor, but every now and again Jughead would see a bottle of cheap wine on the kitchen counter. The DJ was playing some Arianna Grande song that he later learned also featured Miley Cyrus and his secret middle-school girl crush, Lana Del Ray. It apparently had to play once an hour because the girls were dressed as angels. 

At one point, Jughead lost Betty to a sea of cheerleaders and a _different_ Arianna Grande song. He was content sipping his drink at the top of the stairs and looking down at everything happening below. 

“This is insane,” Joaquin said from behind him. He held out his glass and they clinked them together in a cheers of some sort. 

“Yeah. Apparently it _is_ an annual thing. Like she puts this much effort into it every year.” 

“Yeah Jug, I know what annual means.” 

“No shit, Sherlock. I just meant, how do they do it? Throw all of this together within a week and still manage to pay attention to us?” 

“I honestly have no idea,” Joaquin replied. 

“Hey,” Jughead said, turning to him, “what’s up with you and the Sheriff’s kid?” 

“Kevin?” Jughead nodded. Joaquin took another sip of his drink and said, “I don’t know, man. It’s confusing. We are both out and open about it, but it’s different. I actually like him. Like more than just ‘have sex in the woods’ like him.” 

“I get that,” Jughead said looking down. He could see Betty wandering off the dance floor and into the kitchen. She was wobbling just enough for Jughead to worry, so he pushed himself off of the banister and started to walk down the stairs. “Don’t let is stress you out too much. He’s here and isn’t scared of you. That’s a definite indicator he likes you too.” He got half-way down before saying, “Oh! Don’t go two weeks without talking to him. It’s dumb. And pointless. And oddly sexual!” 

“Got it, Boss Man,” Joaquin said with a laugh and a salute. 

Jughead got to the kitchen to find Betty leaning against the counter, scrolling through her phone and drinking a cup of water. 

“Hey there, Betty Cooper,” he called. She looked up from her phone and smiled a real, and very contagious, Betty Cooper smile. 

“Hey there, Beanie Boy. I haven’t seen you all night.” 

“I’ve been up on the landing surveying my empire with Joaquin.” 

“Ah, did you get any information about him and Kev?” She took a few steps towards him so her arms were wrapped around his shoulders and his were draped around her waist. He was too busy feeling her up before to notice that her bodysuit was tied together by a black silk bow. He toyed with it and brought his lips close to her ear. 

“Dance with me.” 

“Is that an order?” 

“Do you want it to be?” 

“Yes,” she moaned. 

He bent down and placed his lips on her pulse point. He parted them and sucked hard. He heard her audible gasp and moan so he pulled her closer to him so she could once again feel how hard he was. 

“Dance with me.” 

He took a step back and looked at her. Her hair was messy from dancing and her chest was heaving. 

“Sure thing, Boss Man,” Betty said with a wink. 

He lightly grabbed one of the ends of the bow and held it gently as she led him onto the dance floor. Jughead couldn’t even hear the words of the music, he could just feel they way it sounded under his feet. His hands itched to touch more of her but she was still moving towards the center of the dance floor. 

When they got closer to the middle, Jughead couldn’t help himself and pulled at her waist, spinning her in so her arms were around his neck. His knee immediately went between her legs and he felt her start to move them to the music. He didn’t know how to dance, but he did know how to move with someone if they were moving with him. His body was on fire and he was so close to kissing her in the middle of the room, surrounded by people he didn't know and music that was too loud. 

The music changed to something with more of a drum beat and she spun around so her back was pressed against his and she bent forward slightly, moving her hips back onto him in a circular motion. When she turned, she made sure to not hit him with gigantic feathery wings on her back. He pulled her in and held her back against him, one arm was under her breasts and the other was squeezing her hip. Her arms were thrown backwards and wrapped around his neck. 

They moved like that for the rest of the song, and Jughead felt like they were the only two in the world. 

“What are you thinking?” He asked into her ear. He didn’t want to yell, but he knew she wouldn’t hear him if he whispered. 

“I’m not,” she said. She slowly turned around, eyes clouded with lust and desire, and she took a small step towards him. “I’m not thinking tonight.” 

“Hmm,” Jughead mused. He moved closer to her when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He assumed it was Pea, coming over to cause trouble, but it wasn’t. 

It was Andrews. 

And Archie fucking Andrews just hooked him in the jaw. 

Jughead massaged his jaw for a moment and looked over at Betty, asking, “did that just happen?” 

She nodded, eyes wide and staring. Jughead could see Archie growing more and more worried by the moment. He was probably expecting Jughead to get knocked out, or at least fall to the ground. He was not expecting Jughead to still be standing, completely unfazed, and mostly just in shock by what just happened.  
“Archie!” Betty screamed over the still playing music. “What the fuck is your problem?” 

“Betty— I—” 

“Seriously dude, what the fuck?” Jughead asked. He wasn’t confused as to why Archie would want to get back at him, but in the middle of a party? 

At Cheryl’s house? 

Really? 

Archie started to panic and turned to run away but was met by a wall of Sweet Pea. “Come back again for round two so soon, Andrews? I’m shocked. You didn’t seem to like it so much last time.” Archie tried to push past him but Joaquin and Fangs, who were flanking Sweet Pea stepped forward, making it impossible for him to run. 

Because of the lack of reaction on Jughead’s part, there weren’t many people paying attention to them. Toni, Cheryl and Veronica were standing on the other side of Jughead and Betty. Their little group formed a wall around Andrews, and Jughead, who’s jaw hurt like a bitch, didn’t want to deal with it this time. 

“Do what you want to him,” he said to Sweet Pea, Fangs and Joaquin. “Pea, I still need you on the ground. You can do what you want though. Just nothing irreparable.” Then he walked up to Archie and whispered, “hit me again though, and I swear I’ll let them do whatever, and I mean _whatever,_ they want.” 

He grabbed Betty’s hand and moved her away from the crowd. Cheryl and Veronica shoved ahead and led them to the kitchen. Jughead assumed that Toni stayed behind to make sure the boys stuck to their word. When they got to the kitchen, Cheryl opened the freezer and grabbed a squishy ice pack, tossing it to Jughead while Betty took a towel from Veronica. 

“You can go upstairs to the bathroom in the room where you guys got ready,” Cheryl said. “We’ll go out there and make sure that no one dies and no one calls the cops. Though we do have an ‘in’ now that Kev is in love with Quin-y.” 

“You didn’t just call him that,” Jughead said in shock. 

“Wrong time?” She didn’t wait for an answer as she kissed Betty’s cheek and Veronica squeezed Jughead’s shoulder and they left. Betty gingerly grabbed his jaw and inspected it. He could tell there was already a small bruise forming under the skin, so it wasn’t surprising when Betty led him out by his hand and up the same stairs he found her on earlier that night. 

At the top of the stairs she made a right and headed into the Serpent’s changing room. She flicked on the light and then headed into the bathroom. She made Jughead sit on the counter-top. They were at the same level when he was sitting and she was in those heels. 

“We gotta stop meeting like this, Betty Cooper.” 

“We do, don’t we,” she said quietly. They stayed silent for a few more minutes until Betty asked, “where’s the beanie?” 

“Inside pocket of my Serpent jacket which is hanging in that closet. I’m putting that shit on as soon as this nightmare is over. Andrew’s can pack a punch though, I will give him that.” 

“It wasn’t all a nightmare though, was it?” 

“Not at all, Betty Cooper.” 

She laid the ice pack on the counter next to him and grasped his jaw again. She skimmed her fingers over where he was hit and gazed into his eyes. They were swimming in emotion and Jughead didn’t know what to do or say in that moment. Smooth talking dancing Jughead was gone, and the scared teenage boy who was afraid of losing Betty Cooper was back. Unable to move, he stayed there staring at her until finally he put his forehead against hers, moving slightly so his nose was nudging hers and moving across her face. 

“Baby,” he said in a strangled whisper again. There is was, the use of that word, a word he knew had a much deeper meaning that now he couldn’t take back. “I don’t think I’m strong enough to stay away from you anymore, Betty Cooper,” he said with a whisper. 

“Then don’t,” Betty replied. Their forehead touched, lips less than an inch apart when the thundering sound of Sweet Pea’s fists hit the door. 

“We gotta move, Boss Man. They're here." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!
> 
> Do you hate me? I hope not. We're almost there, I promise.
> 
> As always, love and support via comments & kudos is greatly appreciated. And I hope you are staying safe and healthy during this time!
> 
> Don't forget to come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee
> 
> xx  
> BB
> 
> EDIT: Also for some reason the notes from the end of the first chapter are showing under this. They _sort of_ apply so take it with a grain of salt. Also I realized I'd been forgetting the 3rd 'e' at the end of my tumblr so if you've been looking for me and not finding me it's edited and corrected above.


	9. If You Roll The Dice There's a Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was going to fuck Veronica Lodge. 
> 
> He was also going to make passionate love to her, but tonight, he was going to fuck her.
> 
> _Hard._
> 
> Of course she had to dress up as a fucking Victoria’s Secret angel for Halloween and of course she had to dance with Fangs (while making direct eye contact with him) and ignore him for the majority of the night. Of course she did. Because she was Veronica Lodge, and she did whatever the fuck she wanted.
> 
> Sweet Pea wanted her to want to do _him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo!
> 
> This is a little SweetVee smut content to make up for the lack of Bughead kisses. Plus I love writing Sweet Pea and V is one of my fav characters and I wanted to give them some love.
> 
> I'm thinking I might do little 3k-4k chapters for our other character pairings in between major Bughead chapters. In all of their angsty head spaces we don't really get to see the other OTPs, ya know?
> 
> I promise that the other chapters wouldn't replace the Tuesday one AT ALL, so if I do them, don't worry about that.
> 
> ANYWAY, here's some SweetVee content for you.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just like writing them. Also this is un-beta'd so any mistakes are mine.

He was going to fuck Veronica Lodge. 

He was also going to make passionate love to her, but tonight, he was going to fuck her.

_Hard._

Of course she had to dress up as a fucking Victoria’s Secret angel for Halloween and of course she had to dance with Fangs (while making direct eye contact with him) and ignore him for the majority of the night. Of course she did. Because she was Veronica Lodge, and she did whatever the fuck she wanted.

Sweet Pea wanted her to want to do _him._

He had had enough of her games. She was standing outside with Cheryl, Toni, Betty and a few other people from school, a red solo cup in one hand and a joint in the other. She looked happy, a look of hers that Sweet Pea was constantly trying to bottle up and save for later, for when she wasn’t around. He came up with a quick plan and walked over to them.

The few people from school seemed to be a bit nervous by his presence. He could really only chalk that up to the fact that his face was in a hard, concentrated line, as he was on a mission to get what he wanted.

Which was Veronica Lodge.

When he got to them he didn’t wait to address the group, he just grabbed Veronica by the waist and kissed her, fisting his other hand in her hair. Her hands came up to collar of his jacket and pulled him down to her. She tasted like tequila and smoke and her lips felt like velvet. He knew from their first kiss that she liked it when he gently pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth, but chose to wait to do _that_ until they were in private.

He broke the kiss and looked down at her. Her eyes were wide and a mixture of confused and turned on. He raised an eyebrow at her and she nodded her head. He grabbed her hand and led her through the throngs of kids on Cheryl’s lawn. 

He didn’t care if people saw them making a b-line through the house. He didn’t care that people were staring at them. He didn’t even care when Jughead yelled, “need a condom?” He was standing on the landing at the top of the stairs, and while Sweet Pea usually fought back with a snarky comment, he just stopped and pulled one out of his wallet, holding it between two fingers and smirked. 

Veronica took the lead from there and walked them down the hallway, surprising both Sweet Pea and Jughead by yelling, “I have one too,” as they passed. She brought them down the hall and stopped in front of one of the doors. Sweet Pea didn't wait for her to open the door, instead opting to press her against it. She quickly got the idea of where he was going and jumped slightly. He caught her under the thighs and pushed her harder against the door. 

“Mmh,” she moaned, “door knob.”

“Breathe, baby. I’ll get there,” he muttered against her lips. He continued to fight her tongue for dominance, and didn’t stop until he had won. He felt her body submit to him and her legs squeeze tighter around him. He let her down and she whimpered in protest and Sweet Pea had to palm himself through his jeans to get the slightest relief. He spun her around and wrapped one of his arms gently around her neck from behind. He bent down low and lowly whispered, “door,” as he slapped her ass.

Her legs gave out slightly as she twisted the knob. As soon as it was open Sweet Pea pushed it with the hand that was around her neck and picked her up bridal style and brought her into the room. He kicked the door behind him and threw her onto the bed.

“You think you can just walk around looking like _that?_ The things you make me want to do to you, Veronica, they’re too much. _You’re_ too much.” He dipped his head to her neck and bit down, not even giving her enough time to prepare. He ground his hips into hers and pressed gentle kisses to her bruising skin. 

He lifted himself up so he could look at her. Her chest was heaving and her eyes were heavy with lust and he thought he might combust. She was there, laying under him and obviously as ready for this as he was. 

Then a switch flipped.

“Wait is this, is this okay?” He asked suddenly. He immediately started to worry that he had gone too far. In a matter of moments he kissed her in front of everyone, pulled her away from the party, and started throwing her around. All without asking.

“What?” She asked breathily. She looked genuinely confused by his question and he exhaled slightly.

“This,” he said, using the hand that wasn’t supporting him to motion to their position. “I didn’t ask, I just kind of, grabbed you. It wasn’t fair of me to do that. If you want to go, you can...” He trailed off and looked at her. He was surprised to see that she looked... angry?

“Sweet Pea. You can be so _thick_ sometimes. I came down the stairs looking like _this,_ danced with your best friend and only looked at you, and if you don’t remember, _I_ led _you_ into this room. Not the other way around. If I didn’t want this, we wouldn’t be in here. End of story.”

That was all Sweet Pea needed to smirk and growl out, “then take the fucking wings off.”

She sat up slowly, making sure to push her breasts up at his face. He moved back and forcefully pulled at her and ripping down the top of her bodysuit and sucking hard bruises into the fleshy skin. She moaned again, and Sweet Pea realized he found a new thing about her that he wanted to bottle up and save for later. 

She slid the straps of both the wings and her top down each arm, crossing them over herself so she could do both at the same time. He was mesmerized by her. When she had both the wings and the top of her outfit off, Sweet Pea grabbed her breasts and pinched each nipple harshly. She cried out and reached for the collar of his shirt and ripped it over his head. 

_When did my jacket come off?_

But then she raked her fingernails down his abdomen and he felt his body clench under her and he realized he didn’t care. She made quick work of his belt buckle while kicking off her heels. Sweet Pea wanted her to keep them on but knew he could either have her naked _or_ have her in heels. 

This time.

He peeled the rest of her costume off and she pulled down his boxers. He kicked off his socks and then stood there staring. The room was dark and he couldn’t see her very well. He was glad there were a bunch of lights on outside in the yard because it meant he could see her easier as he backed her into the bed. When her knees hit the edge he gently pushed her down. He wrapped his hand around himself and stroked a few times just looking at her. 

He dropped to his knees in front of her and gently pushed her knees open. She was beautiful and pink and already so wet that he could see it in the dark room. He dragged one finger down her slit, completely avoiding her clit as she moved and moaned for more against him. He kept running small lines up and down and waited until as long as he could before wrapping his lips around her clit and sucking. Not so hard that it hurt, but hard enough that she screamed in pleasure. He continued to run his finger up and down, just barely dipping in and curling upward.

“Please, oh god, please,” Veronica moaned.

“Hmm?” Sweet Pea asked, just moving far enough that he could talk, but close enough that she felt his breath on her. “What was that? Did you want to say something?”

“Please,” she cried. “Please, Sweet Pea, please let me cum.”

His dick was aching and leaking with pre-cum as he lifted off of her and grabbed the condom he dropped on the floor when his jacket came off. He tore it open with his teeth and rolled it onto himself, all while applying gentle pressure and strokes to her slit, never fully touching where she wanted him most.

“You beg so nicely,” he said, never not touching her, but moving up so his dick was aligned with her core, “but no.” He pulled his fingers from her and replaced them with his dick, all with one fluid motion.

Sweet Pea had had sex. In fact, Sweet Pea could argue that he had _great_ sex. 

But this? 

This was other worldly. 

He knew that he wanted to take his time with her and learn all of the ways to make her cum, make her beg, make her only remember his name and his name alone.

But tonight?

Tonight he set out to fuck Veronica Lodge.

Hard.

He slid himself all the way out and slammed back into her, allowing her screams and moans and “oh my fucking god”s and “fuck, Sweet Pea, fuck”s and “yes! yes! yes!”s to set his pace. He didn’t let up once, even when he thought he was going to cum about three seconds in, he kept going, her orgasms the only thing on his mind. 

He rolled them over so she was on top of him and before she could move he wrapped his arms down her back and grabbed her ass, spreading her cheeks apart and roughly kneading each side. He raised her slightly and started pounding into her again. She was whimpering in his ear and before long gasping, “I’m cumming, I’m cumming, I’m cumming,” and trying to both grind harder into him and pull away.

_One_ he thought.

He so desperately wanted to let her ride it out, but he didn’t. Instead he sat up so they were pressed chest to chest on the edge of the bed. He grabbed her chin and kissed her. It was more of a battle of tongues and heavy open mouthed breathing than a kiss, but it made his lower abdomen clench and he knew that he wasn’t going to last much longer.

He gently wrapped his hand around her throat and said, “I’m going to fuck you standing up and from behind, because when you cum again I want to see your legs shaking.” Then he ducked his head and bit and sucked on both of her nipples. He was still inside her, and the way her body reacted to his ministrations was almost too much. 

He pulled her off him and stood them both up. He pushed her over to the wall and bent her slightly at the hips so only her face and breasts were against the wall. 

“Spread your legs for me, baby,” he demanded. His hand instinctually went to his dick but he stopped himself, knowing that the slightest touch could send him all the way over the edge.

And that would be a waste of a perfectly good orgasm.

Knowing that he probably wouldn’t last more than a minute in this position, he bent down again, aligning his face with her dripping center. This time, he could see her cum actually dripping down her thighs. He licked from her inner knee up her thigh and blew gently on her center. When he did it to the other side, he made sure to give two hard smacks to each of her ass cheeks before smacking her clit. 

She screamed and tried to pull away but he did it two more times before sucking down, this time hard, right on her over-exposed bundle of nerves. He kept his lips wrapped around her and sucked gently, letting his tongue draw little “S” shapes around her. He took both hands and let his thumbs hook gently on her inner lips and pulled them apart, allowing him to apply even more pressure to her clit. 

He felt her legs start to shake and could hear her muttering through strangled moans how badly she wanted to cum. He sucked harder and pulled farther, and felt, rather than saw when she came. 

_Two._

He let her ride out her orgasm on his face before standing up and peppering her back and thighs with kisses, discreetly wiping his face off as he did so. He placed his hand on her low back and positioned himself with her entrance. He wiped his dick against her slit shivered at how wet she was.

“I said I wanted to _see_ your legs shake. That time I only felt it.” She whimpered as he entered her again without warning and put one hand against the wall by her face, the other he crossed over her body and continued to slam into her. 

He knew he was so close to cumming but needed her to orgasm one more time. He uncrossed him arm and moved it back to the other side of her body and around her front. He moved his hand down until he found her clit. He pinched and grabbed it, rolling it between his fingers. She was so wet that it was almost impossible to apply pressure to her while fucking her _and_ trying not to cum.

He felt her walls throb around him, both pulling him in and pushing him away. “I’m looking at you now, baby,” he said against her ear. “Cum for me.” He thought he would be able to _maybe_ hold out for a few more moments, but she moaned out a “yes, daddy,” clamped down hard on his dick, and he was done. 

_Three._

“Veeeeee,” he moaned while he came. They rode out their orgasms together and Sweet Pea collapsed onto her back. He still had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other on the wall, supporting them. 

After about a minute he whispered, ”I’m gonna pull out now, okay?” She nodded her head and he moved slowly, making sure to continue to support her. “You good?” Sweet Pea asked her. She nodded again and he stepped away from the wall. “Here, go sit down,” he said, moving her over to the bed. He kissed her forehead and walked into the bathroom, where he used one of the towels to wipe off the sweat from his face and threw out the condom.

When he got back to the bedroom his stomach dropped. Veronica was still on the bed, but she had put her costume back on and was sticking her foot in her heel when she looked up with a blank expression.

“Where are you going?” He asked.

“C’mon, Pea,” she said with pain in her eyes. “I know what this was.”

“Oh you do?” He said angrily. “Then please, Veronica, tell me what this was. Because to me, that was mind blowing sex with a girl I like _a lot._ And to me, it was something I thought was special. To me that,” he said, pointing to the wall where they just were, “meant something. It meant a lot.” He was still naked. Naked and yelling at the girl who just gave him one of the best orgasms he'd ever had.

“Well what the fuck were you gonna do after? Lay down and cuddle?”

“Uh, fuck yes, Veronica. Have you seen this bed? Have you seen yourself? And I know this is a room you’ve stayed in before because all of the other doors were shut and you led us directly to this one.”

She looked down. Her lips were still swollen and her eyes were glassy and even though she was the one in clothes and he was not, he still felt that she looked more naked than he did in that moment.

“This wasn’t some drunken party hook-up?”

“What? No! Not even at all,” he said walking up to her. ”Look, Veronica, I like you. I really fucking like you. And I’m not even going to make the ‘and I really like fucking you,’ joke.” Then he thought about it. “Actually yes I am. I _really_ like fucking you, too. And if you’ll let me, I can show you how serious I am about both, okay?”

She nodded, and he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. “Since you’re already dressed,” he said with mock scorn, “can I meet you downstairs? I need to use the bathroom and get dressed and...” he trailed off, “hey, where’s my jacket?”

“Oh,” she said with a giggle. “It came off outside. I realized too late that I took it off but then remembered Cheryl stuck condoms in mine and Betty’s bras before we walked out tonight.”

“So the condom I found was yours, not mine?”

“Correct.”

“And if you hadn’t had it, I would have had to stop, naked, and get my jacket from outside?”

“Correct again.”

“Hmm,” he said. Then he pulled her into a hug and rested his head on hers. “Remind me to buy Cheryl a gift.”

She laughed and he pulled back, kissing her forehead and saying, “go, I’ll meet you in a second.”

She met his lips and headed out the door. She turned when she got there and gave him a smile. Before she could open the door he crossed the room in three strides and kissed her hard, the same way he did outside. 

“Bye,” she said.

“For now,” he said back.

_I almost said “until then” like I’m Jughead and Betty. Gross._

He heard the door shut behind her and he walked into the bathroom and grabbed his clothes. After putting them back on, he splashed his face with cold water and tried hard to not think too much about what just happened because he’d turn into a giggling school girl and he couldn’t do that. 

When he walked outside his jacket was no where to be found. _Thank god that wasn’t my Serpent jacket,_ he thought. He walked into the hall and down to the room where he got ready and grabbed his jacket out of the closet. He was standing on the landing were Jughead was earlier and was just about to go downstairs when he saw something.

A dude in a letterman jacket handing a small bag containing a white substance to a kid in another letterman jacket. Sweet Pea was sure that the kid doing the hand-off was the kid they were looking for. 

At that moment he also saw Andrews make his way to a _basically fucking_ Jughead and Betty on the dance floor.

He also saw Veronica looking around and obviously waiting for him.

_Well, fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it and I hope it holds you over until Tuesday!
> 
> What do you think about random couples chapters sprinkled throughout?
> 
> LMK <3
> 
> Come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	10. The Universe Began With Our Eyes Closed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She remembered that day so clearly. 
> 
> It was the day after they ended their silent war, and Jughead had demanded that they all skip lunch period to go get Pop’s. The eight of them climbed into Jughead and Cheryl’s cars and sped off. Jughead placed a huge order over the phone and then fought with Veronica over who would pay. They ended up splitting it down the middle and eating outside around the cars because it was a nice enough day. 
> 
> Betty was absolutely enamored by Jughead’s easy going attitude, and chalked it up to the fact that he could throw out a, “right, Betty Cooper,” when he wanted her opinion on something. She snapped the photo and quickly took the milkshake, swallowing half of it in one gulp and making eye contact with him the whole time.
> 
> She stopped staring at the photo and answered the call before it went to voicemail.
> 
> “Hello?”
> 
> _”Betty Cooper, where the hell are you and why the hell aren’t you in my bed?!”_
> 
> “Jughead Jones, did you read the note that’s on the fridge?”
> 
> “What?” He asked, and Betty heard him stomping into the kitchen, _“There’s no fucking note on the… oh._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I love you & please enjoy 
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, I just like to write them. This story is un-beta'd so any mistakes are mine.

_Overture— Sleeping at Last_

It was Chuck Clayton.

He was in Jughead’s first period class. Chuck wasn’t someone that he had ever paid any mind to. He didn’t talk or contribute much in class, but made enough of a disturbance that Jughead remembered rolling his eyes a few times. Chuck Clayton wasn’t someone he had any feelings towards. He knew that he was on the football team and that his dad was the coach and that he was relatively new to Riverdale. 

Now though, Jughead hated Chuck Clayton.

Granted, he didn’t know him well enough to feel real hatred towards him, but he knew that he was dealing for the Ghoulies, and that his dealings were keeping Jughead from throwing Betty around a drafty room with vaulted ceilings, making it so the noises she made were lost on the world.

So yeah, in this moment? In this moment he _hated_ Chuck Clayton.

“What’s up,” Jughead asked when he got to Sweet Pea. They gave each other quick appreciative once overs and Jughead simultaneously held his hand up and hung his head as an answer to Sweet Pea’s silent questioning, where Sweet Pea just cracked his knuckles and nervously looked around. “Why are you nervous?”

“I’m not,” Sweet Pea said. Jughead raised an eyebrow at him. “Okay, I am. I’m very nervous. I was supposed to meet Veronica back down here but then I saw Andrew’s coming at you. And get this, the kid, you know the one who’s dealing? It’s Chuck.”

“Clayton?” Jughead asked. 

“Yep,” Sweet Pea said, popping the “P.” 

“Weird,” Jughead said in a confused voice. “What the hell would a football player have to do with the Ghoulies?”

“Beats me,” Sweet pea said shrugging. He was still looking around like a scared little boy and Jughead couldn’t help but make fun of him. “I should probably move Dorian upstairs tonight then, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah,” Jughead said. They had agreed that Sweet Pea should do it since he had a better chance of taking on the kid alone if he tried to break out. “I take it things went well with you and our Park Ave princess?” Jughead asked. A smile broke out onto Sweet Pea’s face but he still asked,

“Why would you say that?”

“Well for one, your shirt is inside out. It’s a good look, by the way,” Jughead said laughing as Sweet Pea frantically looked down. “And two, your hair is sticking out in _every_ which direction. And you’re in your Serpent jacket again.” 

Sweet Pea grinned sheepishly at him. “Yeah, you could say things went well.” He was silent for a few beats before spinning to Jughead. “I like her dude. Like, a lot.”

“I know,” Jughead said nodding. “I like mine a lot too.”

“Speaking of yours,” Sweet Pea said slyly, “did I interrupt _the_ moment between you and Coop?”

Jughead said nothing, instead opting to run his hand through his unnaturally gelled hair. What had Sweet Pea interrupted? And how far would it have gotten if he hadn’t started pounding on the door? Jughead knew he wanted his first kiss with Betty to be somewhere safe and special, but he was also getting really tired of having to control himself at all times. He wanted to be able to kiss her hello and goodbye and randomly in the hall and to shut her up and to make her smile and to un-trap that damn bottom lip from under her teeth. 

He had considered kissing her in his car more times than he could count, but knew that if something bad happened and he couldn’t kiss her anymore, that he would have to throw the damn thing out.

He couldn’t really afford to do that though. 

While kissing her in one of Cheryl’s bathrooms while she was icing his face wouldn’t have been ideal, it would have also been a dire circumstance, and he didn’t think he would be able to hold out any longer.

He had said it earlier, but he really _was_ going to kiss Betty Cooper before the night was over.

“Oh Jesus,” he heard Sweet Pea mutter under his breath. Jughead broke out of his reverie to look up and see a visibly angry Veronica stalking over to them.

“Wow, she can move fast in those things,” Jughead said, noticing her heels.

“Tell me about it,” Sweet Pea grumbled. “Am I going to die?”

“Maybe? But blame Andrews.”

Sweet Pea didn’t get to respond before Veronica approached them, arm poised to hit him in the face. Sweet Pea grabbed her wrist and raised an eyebrow down at her. 

“Alright, munchkin, before you go throwing hands again, there are two sides to every story.” Veronica said nothing so Sweet Pea continued, “Andrews punched Jughead and—”

“No I was there for that part,” she said, struggling against his hold. He had grabbed her by the waist so her face and arms were pressed to his face and she was unable to move. Jughead found the entire situation comical and watched on with a smirk on his face. “But where did you go af—”

“Damn, baby! Will you let me finish my story before you start yelling and trying to hit me again. I didn’t intend to not find you after I helped Joaquin and Fangs deal with Andrews, but I saw Chuck Clayton dealing drugs to some other football player. And we’ve been trying to figure out who at Riverdale was dealing.”

Veronica snapped her head up and tilted her face as far back as possible so she could get a good look at his face. “Can you let go of me?”

“Are you going to try and hit me again?”

“That depends on if you’re stupid again,” she retorted.

“That’s fair,” Sweet Pea said, releasing her.

Veronica got a better look at him and asked, “Chuck is selling drugs? Why?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Jughead said, speaking up for the first time since this all began.

“Does Betty know?” Veronica asked.

“No, not yet. That’s what I was trying to tell her upstairs before Sweet Pea busted through the door.”

“That is _not_ what you were trying to do upstairs, Jones. Don’t play that shit with me.”

“Fine! I was trying to kiss her because as _everyone_ knows, I haven’t!” He yelled.

“Calm down there, Romeo! I was just making an observation, don’t flip out.” Then she turned to Sweet Pea and said, “your answer works. Are you guys staying for a while longer?”

“No, I have to drive Betty back to the Wyrm,” Sweet Pea said. 

_You do?_ Jughead thought. _Oh right. Dorian._

“What? Why you? Why can’t Jughead do it?”

“I have to talk to Andrews,” he came up with quickly. “I’d rather get to the bottom of this shit while Betty isn’t here, and since I’m assuming she told Alice that she was staying here tonight, having Pea drop her off at home in lingerie doesn’t seem like the best idea,” Jughead said easily. 

Veronica squinted at both of them, not wanting to believe their motives, but not having an argument against it. “Fine. I’ll go grab her. I don’t trust Jones to not fuck her on their way down the stairs.”

Jughead didn’t like Veronica using such vulgar words about him and Betty, regardless of how true they were. “Oh like you and Sweet Pea didn’t just fuck each other against a door less than twenty minutes ago? You should probably open the door before starting to rip each others clothes off,” Jughead said with a smirk.

“You!” Sweet Pea yelled as a realization hit him. “You’re the one who stole my jacket!”

“Maybe I did,” he said walking away, “but you’ll never know.”

He headed inside to try and find Joaquin and Fangs. He found them and Kevin in the kitchen, talking quietly and holding empty neon shot glasses. As he approached them he heard the tail end of Kevin’s sentence.

“… going to try and convince Archie to not go to his dad or the police, but this will be the second time since you guys got to school that he’d be going home battered and bruised.”

“I can tell him that I know Clayton is dealing, and I can either turn his friend for selling drugs as a minor, _to_ minors, or he can tell his dad he got in a drunken fight with a teammate and see how that goes,” Jughead said, stepping up. Kevin jumped, but Joaquin and Fangs weren’t phased, probably having already seen him approaching. 

“What, Chuck is dealing? Does Betty know?” Kevin asked in a hurry.

“Why is everyone so worried about if Betty knows or not?” Jughead snapped.

“That’s something you need to ask Betty,” Kevin said calmly. “But is threatening Archie really the best way to handle this?”

“Well we can’t hold his hand and say sorry, Kev,” Joaquin said. “So Chuck’s our guy?”

“According to Sweet Pea,” Jughead said back. He walked over to the counter and poured himself a shot of tequila. He needed some to handle Andrews.

“And you trust Sweet Pea?” Kevin asked, looking at all of them.

“With my life,” Jughead, Joaquin and Fangs said at the same time. There was no question about it. Sweet Pea was the most loyal friend he had ever had, our would ever have. Gun to his head he would always sacrifice himself before ever hurting his friends or allowing them to get hurt. 

Jughead’s friendship with Sweet Pea started out rocky. Pea was part of the Serpents before he was, so he got to be on the receiving end of Sweet Pea’s brass knuckles during initiation. It made for an unhealthy rivalry between the two. Jughead got a small leg up in terms of ranks because of his dad, but because Sweet Pea was a bit older and had been part of the Serpents longer, he still held rank. 

However, when Jughead became leader of the Serpents and subsequently got to beat the shit out of Sweet Pea, they started to respect each other, and were practically inseparable ever since. Just how Sweet Pea would die for Jughead, Jughead would die for him too.

“Sweet Pea is driving Betty back to the Wyrm so he can deal with a few things and I’m going to talk to Andrews. Anyone want to come? And Kevin,” he said, looking at Kevin’s open mouthed expression, “don’t ask me what Sweet Pea is dealing with. I like you because Quin obviously likes you. But you’re still the Sheriff’s kid. So I’m not telling you everything. Understood?” Kevin nodded his head and Jughead said, “good. Now I’m going to go find Andrews so I can talk to him and set this shit straight. Are you coming?” There was no verbal agreement, just a succession of head nodding, and they were off. 

The found him outside sitting on the steps with an icepack to his face. Apparently one of his friends got in a few good hits because there was a girl sitting next to him with an ice pack on his shoulder. When he looked up and saw the four of them approach he visibly flinched, alarming the girl next to him. She jumped up and walked away before they could walk over, and Jughead couldn’t help but laugh.

“Even your new girlfriend knows not to stick around when we show up,” he said to Archie. “Don’t try to get up, okay, Andrews? We gotta talk.” Jughead plopped down next to Archie on the step and turned and faced him. Joaquin leaned on the railing next to him, while Fangs stood in front. Kevin surprised Jughead by sitting on the step below him. He figured it had to do with the fact that he was familiar with Archie and could act as a buffer if necessary.

“So,” Jughead started, “what’s your real problem with me?”

Archie seemed to think about this for a moment. It was if this was the first time he had stopped and thought about why he acted the way he did. He looked incredibly uncomfortable by it all which was immensely satisfying for Jughead to watch.

“I don’t like you with Betty,” he finally said with a nod like he was satisfied by his answer. This made Jughead chuckle.

“Why? Because she’s with _me?_ Or because she's not with _you?_ ”

This seemed to trip up Archie again, so Jughead chose to keep talking. “Look, Andrews, I don’t like you. I haven’t liked you since you gave me a dirty look that day in the hallway, and now I _really_ don’t like you because you decided to punch me.” He gave Archie and pointed look, and when he didn’t say anything, Jughead continued on.

“Now, I’m can’t say anything for my friends here,” he said with a gesture to Joaquin and Fangs, “but I’m down to not say anything about this little fight you started if you can agree. Otherwise, I might let something slip about your friend Clayton’s extra-curricular activities.”

He watched as all of the color drained from Archie’s face and said, “what’s wrong, Andrews, you look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” was all Andrews could choke out. Jughead was about to reply when Kevin jumped in instead.

“Jughead saw him, Arch. Whatever he’s dealing, people know about it.”

“And I can tell by the look on your face that you already knew that though,” Fangs said darkly. Archie jumped at the sound of Fangs’s voice. He wasn’t the most aggressive looking of their group, but his voice was the most dangerous. 

“Say nothing about this,” Jughead said, “and your friend gets to keep his side gig. You got that?”

Archie nodded his head and Jughead said, “good,” while clapping hard on his injured shoulder. “I think we’re done here,” he said to Joaquin, Kevin and Fangs. The four of them walked back to the house where they met up with Toni and Cheryl. Cheryl was saying bye to people as they left and Toni was standing next to her, staring lovingly at her… girlfriend? Jughead didn’t know what they were.

Jughead didn’t know what any of them were.

“Hey, Red,” he said as he got up to the girls, “did Betty and Sweet Pea already leave?”

“Yeah,” she answered. Then she asked, “why did Sweet Pea take her home? I thought she was staying here tonight, and she definitely can’t go to her house looking like that. Alice would freak.”

“She’s not going to her house,” Jughead said, “she’s going to mine.”

There was a chorus of catcalls and whoops and Jughead had to try very hard not to blush. “Anyway, Sweet Pea drove me here, which I guess means he took my car…” Jughead said trailing off. He hadn’t thought that part through. He also wondered how Sweet Pea got his keys because he didn’t remember leaving them in the car. But then again, maybe he did. 

“We’ll drive you back,” Joaquin said. Then he turned to Toni and asked, “I assume you’re staying here tonight?”

“You assume correctly,” she responded with a wink. Joaquin nodded and looked over at Kevin who was standing a little ways away. Jughead made eye contact with Cheryl and the two of them decided to move their party upstairs so they could both grab all of the jackets as well as give Joaquin and Kevin a chance to say goodbye.

When they got to the room where the jackets were, Jughead found that his was thrown on the ground, probably in the wake of Sweet Pea finding his keys in his jacket pocket. Before he even put his jacket on he grabbed his beanie and yanked it on top of his head, exhaling a huge breath he didn’t know he was holding. 

“So kids,” Toni asked, “what were you doing outside?”

“Talking to Andrews,” Fangs said while shrugging on his jacket, also letting out an audible sigh when the cool, _actual,_ leather touched his skin. 

“Archie?” Cheryl asked. “Why?”

“Well one, because he punched me. And two, because I needed to tell him that if he outed the fact that he kept getting beat up by the Serpents, mind you, for his own stupid actions, I would tell everyone that his football buddy was our little dealer,” he told them. 

Toni’s eyes grew wide and she asked, “really?”

“Yes. Sweet Pea saw it happen right before Andrews punched me.”

“Wait, I’m confused,” Cheryl said, “which football player and whose dealer?”

“Clayton,” Jughead said. He saw Cheryl start to reply so he cut her off and said, “no Betty doesn’t know. No I don’t know why it’s so important that she knows, but she will. I just don’t know why everyone was worried about it.”

“She’ll tell you,” Cheryl nodded and said sincerely. “I promise.”

Jughead nodded and continued to get ready. There was a knock on the door and Joaquin walked in. “You guys ready?” 

“Yeah,” Fangs said, “let’s go.”

The five of them walked down the stairs and outside where they found Veronica on the same steps where Andrews was, smoking a joint. 

“Are you guys heading out?” She asked when they got to her. She stood up and hugged Joaquin and Fangs, saving Jughead for last. “Take care of my girl, okay?” Jughead nodded against the top of her head and said back, “I always do.”

He hugged Cheryl and kissed Toni on the cheek and followed Fangs and Joaquin to his car. He jumped in the back and relaxed again the seat as they drove out of the driveway and turned onto the main road. Jughead was exhausted and had a headache and wanted to crawl into bed, hopefully with Betty Cooper. 

They were on the main road when Jughead had a thought and asked, “hey, can we go to Pop’s?”

“Dude, I do not want to sit down and eat right now. Can’t you wait until tomorrow?” Joaquin asked in a tired voice.

“I don’t want food, asshole. I want to get Betty a strawberry—”

“Milkshake,” Joaquin and Fangs said at the same time as him. They all laughed, but Joaquin agreed to pull off if Jughead promised to call it in first _and_ get him a double chocolate. Of course Jughead agreed, and in the next ten minutes they had gotten to Pop’s and were back on the road towards the Wyrm.

They made it back within fifteen minutes. Jughead hopped out and thanked Joaquin for the ride and the pitstop. Then he said goodbye to them both and tapped the back of the car on his way in the door.

Sweet Pea was sitting at the bar when Jughead walked in. He headed over to him and sat down to his right. “Are you drinking water?” Jughead asked skeptically. In all of his years of knowing Sweet Pea, he had never known him to voluntarily drink water.

“Yeah I have a fucking headache. The margaritas the girls made were strong. Which honestly makes me feel like a pussy.”

“No don’t,” Jughead said in agreement. “I also have one. Now I can start to understand why Betty was in such bad shape that morning.”

“Yeah, I don’t know how they do it that often,” Sweet Pea said, looking down his glass. “Anyway, Dorian is upstairs. I put him in the back corner room on the opposite side of the hall, so you shouldn’t hear him, and he shouldn’t be able to hear you either.” Jughead nodded. “Also Betty is upstairs. She told me to tell you that she was taking a shower.”

“Did she really?”

“Yep. She also grilled me about Veronica which I refused to tell her, which made her mad. She literally said, ‘I call Boss Lady which means you have to tell me!’ which I thought was hilarious. Anyway, she’s drunk and upstairs and, showered, it seems,” Sweet Pea said chuckling. Jughead had burst into uncontrollable laughter when he got to the ‘Boss Lady’ part. 

“Well I should get upstairs and make sure she didn’t flood my apartment,” Jughead standing up. 

“Yeah,” Sweet Pea said, following suit, “If I don’t get back to Cheryl’s before Veronica falls asleep I’ll be dead. Literally dead. You’d have to host my funeral tomorrow.”

“Good to know,” Jughead said with a smile. Sweet Pea gave him a two finger salute and Jughead responded with a nod, and then headed up the stairs to Betty.

As he walked up the stairs, he thought about how he could get used to the idea of Betty in his apartment waiting for him. The last time he met her in there, she was icing his body and crying after having seen him hold a gun to Dorian’s head. It wasn’t exactly the “honey I’m home,” moment he had been envisioning.

He paused when he got to his front door, and wondered if she would be awake or not. He looked at his phone and saw that it was 2:47am. He had been up and moving for almost twenty-four hours, and sheer exhaustion hit him like a ton of bricks as soon as his hand touched the knob.

When he opened the door he found Betty Cooper asleep in the sweatshirt he gave her that day in the bathroom and a pair of his boxers. He quietly shut the door and walked over to the fridge, opening it and putting the milkshake on the top shelf. He couldn’t even think about drinking it right then, the thought of sugar and dairy making his stomach churn just a little.

_Fuck you, Cheryl._

He let her sleep on the couch for a bit while he took a shower himself and downed a huge glass of what, both of which made him feel much better. He changed into plaid pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt and walked back over to Betty on the couch. He crouched down in front of her so his face was level with hers. He pressed small kisses to her forehead and cheeks and watched her eyelids slowly flutter open.

“Hi,” he whispered. She twisted slowly and moved her arms above her head.

“Hey,” she said groggily. “Fuck, what time is it?”

“A little after three,” he told her. Then he stood up and offered her his hand and helped her off the couch. He led her to his bed room and motioned for her to get in bed. She crawled on top of the covers and lay diagonally across it. He chuckled at her and climbed in too, sitting against the wall and put her legs on top of his outstretched ones. 

“Did you and Sweet Pea get to talk to your guy?” She asked, stifling a yawn with the back of her hand. He was rubbing his hand up and down her shin with one hand and drawing circles on her knee with his other.

“Actually, no,” Jughead said, leaving out the fact that it was Chuck, a concept that people were very concerned that Betty didn’t know. “I actually talked to Andrews.”

She sat up onto her forearms and asked, “Archie?”

“Yeah. I needed to clear the air with him. And make sure that he wasn’t going to start telling people Fangs and Joaquin, and probably Sweet Pea honestly, beat him up. Kevin was there. There was no additional violence,” he added to appease the alarm in her face when he said Sweet Pea’s name. 

“Oh,” she breathed, releasing one of he arms with a sigh and looked at him. She was staring at him with her beautiful emerald eyes and Jughead felt himself getting sucked in. He moved his hand a bit higher on her leg and continued moving his hand up and down. He felt his dick twitch in his pajama bottoms and boldly moved even higher, so his thumb was playing with the hem of the boxers she was wearing.

“Come over here,” he said, but he was the one who swung her legs under him and shifted his weight on top of her. He rested himself on his right arm and raised his left to stroke her hair out of her face. She was the most beautiful person he had ever seen. Her beauty rivaled the things that one read about. She glowed from the inside out, her light not dimmed by the monsters that he knew she harbored. She glowed despite them. She glowed to fight them. 

He hoped she glowed for him.

She looked at him with eyes that were heavy with sleep and residual drunkenness. He wanted to take a photo of this moment and burn it into his brain, or put it on a platter and swallow her whole. He was absolutely enraptured with her. 

He’d known he had feelings for her since she told Sweet Pea to shut up in the middle of the hallway. He knew those feelings were growing when she fought him about going to the Southside for ice cream and didn’t run when he told her his name. He knew he was falling in love with her when she showed up at the Wyrm and broke the silence.

She was inevitable.

But as she lay under him in one of his sweatshirts and a pair of his boxers, hair still wet from the shower she took earlier, he knew he was done. The domesticity of it all made his breath catch in his throat. All of the fear and confusion that the night left him with dissipated when she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth and brought one of her hands to the hem of his shirt, gently toying with the material while her fingers lightly brushed his skin. His control was slipping and falling into her emerald eyes and he was fixated on her bottom lip. He wanted to untuck it with his own teeth and not his hand.

So he did.

It started slow, the kiss. He didn’t want to scare her. He knew that they had done things far more physical than this. But a kiss? A kiss would be the most intimate thing they had experienced together. He pulled back and gaged her response. Her bottom lip escaped the hold of her teeth and her eyes had fluttered shut. 

He slowly lowered his face down to hers again. He knew she didn’t run easy, but this was the most vulnerable Jughead felt in years, and if she rejected him... 

He didn’t want to think about it. 

It turned out rejection wasn’t something he had to worry about, because the second his lips touched hers, she attacked him. Her lips pressed aggressively against his and he almost had to struggle to catch up. He fisted his hand into her hair and wrapped his other arm around her torso, pulling her as close to him as possible. She moaned into the kiss and Jughead had to fight hard not to cum right there. She tasted exactly the way he thought she would. Like honey and strawberries and with the faint taste of the margarita she had earlier in the night. 

Her lips fit perfectly against his and he wondered how he had ever thought that he’d had a good kiss in his life. She felt like magic. He ran his tongue against her bottom lip and felt the ridges that her teeth made. He trapped that bottom lip between his teeth and rolled it slowly creating his own ridges. He felt her body press against his, and the next thing he knew he was on his back. 

Betty had rolled on top of him and was grinding down on his painful hard on and Jughead moaned into her mouth. He let his hands trail up her body until they were grabbing he waist from under her sweatshirt. He squeezed hard and moved them farther up until they were resting on her bare breasts.

“Betty,” he mumbled against her lips. She kept kissing him, and he knew that if they didn’t stop right now, that they would reach a point of no return, and as much as his body wanted him to, his brain was not ready to go that far with her.

“Betty, Betty,” he said again, rolling them onto their sides. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He pulled her close to him so there was not an inch of space between them and kissed her slowly, letting their lips linger and become more acquainted with the pace of this kiss. He continued to move slowly, and felt her gently tug at his hair.

They pulled apart and pressed their foreheads and noses together. He kissed her nose and she let out a breathy giggle.

“Hi,” he said, continue to pepper her whole face in kisses.

“Hi,” she said back between laughs. Jughead started laughing too and before he knew it they were laughing in between heated and chaste and every type of kiss there was. Laughing at how free they felt, being able to do that. Laughing at how scared they were that the other would run, when history had proven otherwise.

“You thought I was going to reject you?” She asked, still in fits of uncontrollable laughter. “That’s why you never kissed me in the Jeep?”

“Look Betty Cooper, none of it makes sense. My only logic behind it was that if you did reject me, then I would have to throw out the whole car, and I couldn’t afford to do that.” That sent her over the edge again and he started laughing at her laughing. They had all but settled down when she hiccuped which made Jughead laugh so hard he snorted.

“Okay!” He half yelled. “I’m getting up to grab water and Advil! Do you need anything else?”

“No, I’m okay, thank you,” she said, inhaling deep breaths of air. He nodded and pulled away from her and stood up. He was halfway to the door when she said, “wait! I do. Sorry,” and stood up and ran over to him. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled his face down to meet hers. She kissed him hard and then released him with an, “okay, I’m good now.” 

Jughead kissed her forehead, walked out of the door and into the kitchen. He filled two glasses with cold water and grabbed the bottle of Advil out of the medicine cabinet from above the fridge. When he got back to his room he found Betty under the blankets, which he had pulled up to her chin. She was facing away from the door and had put her hair up in a bun on top of her head. 

Jughead placed a glass of water and the bottle of Advil on his side and then sat on the bed, nudging Betty and saying, “here, baby, take this.” She sleepily lifted her head and took a sip of water, and then gave it back to him. He put her glass next to his on the bedside table and turned off the light. He pulled off his shirt, got under the blankets and as soon as he laid down, Betty had scooted her body over so her back was pressed against his side. 

“Lift your head,” he whispered. She lifted up and he snuck one arm under her head and turned so his stomach was pressed against his back, spooning her. He looped the other arm around her waist and she pushed farther back onto him. She sighed contentedly and he kissed the back of her head.

“Betty?” He asked, his eyes fighting him, trying desperately to stay awake and hold onto this moment.

“Hmm?” 

“Thanks for not running.” Betty sighed and turned so he was now holding her chest against his. She placed kisses against his shirt and wrapped her arm around his waist.

“Thanks for trusting me,” she mumbled back. Jughead kissed her forehead, submitting to his sleepy eyes with the realization that he would never be able to sleep without her again.

* * *

She didn’t know where she was when she woke up, but she knew she was _sweating._ Like unbearable, sticky, hair plastered to the side of her face, sweaty. 

_What the fuck?_ She tried to roll over to get away from the space heater that was turned on high right next to her. _Again, what the fuck?_

The space heater let out a loud, choking snore and Betty giggled, coming to the realization of where she was. 

_Oh, so the space heater is Jughead._

She let out a defeated sigh, and focused on deep breathing, hoping that it would aid in cooling her down. She pressed her cheek into Jughead’s bare chest and placed small kisses there, relieved and excited that she could kiss him whenever she wanted.

Because Jughead kissed her last night.

A perfect, mind-blowing, panty dropping, oh god please never stop, kiss that she wanted to drown in. She was initially mad that he stopped the kiss when he did, but realized that if they had started fucking, they wouldn’t be able to finish due to how utterly exhausted they were.

Jughead let out another body wracking snore and turned over. 

Betty thought. She snuck out of the bed and into the kitchen, re-tying her hair as she went. She found a glass and filled it with water, overjoyed at the cool sensation that it left her with. She looked around the kitchen and saw on the microwave that it was close to noon. 

Betty opened the fridge and found that Jughead only had the bare minimum and… a strawberry milkshake? 

_I guess I’m going to Pop’s then._

Betty threw on the pair of leggings that she took from Cheryl’s room before her and Sweet Pea headed to the Wyrm. The only jacket she could find was Jughead’s Serpent jacket and she was not wearing that out into the world. It was bad enough that she lied to Alice about where she ended up sleeping, let alone driving around town in a Serpent jacket.

She scribbled out a note for Jughead, grabbed the keys to his Jeep off the hook by the door, and headed out. She found his Jeep where Sweet Pea parked it the night before and got in. It felt weird being in his car without him, and for a split second she was worried he’d be mad at her for taking it.

Betty decided that she didn’t care if he got mad because she could kiss his anger away and that made the prospect of making him mad that much more exciting.

When she got to the diner she was greeted by a smiling Pop Tate. 

“Good morning, Miss Betty Cooper,” he said happily. “Where’s Jughead?”

Betty blushed at his question and asked, “why would I know?”

“Well you did drive in to the lot in his Jeep, and I’m assuming you didn’t steal it…” he said with a sly smile. “But that’s none of my business. What can I get for you today?”

“Um,” she thought. It was after noon, but Betty knew Jughead well enough that he wouldn’t turn down pancakes _and_ a burger. “I’ll have two orders of chocolate chip pancakes, two orders of hash browns, and two orders of the double bacon burgers that Jughead always gets.” Pop nodded and then Betty tacked on, “and a double chocolate shake, because apparently he came in here at like 2:30am to buy a strawberry one that’s in our fridge melting.”

Pop let out a big belly laugh at this and said, “sounds just like him,” and walked away. It wasn’t until he was gone that Betty realized she said _our_ fridge like she owned it too.

_Fuck._

She was lost in a growing panic attack over a small three letter word when her phone rang. It was Jughead. A picture of him sitting on the hood of his car with a cigarette in his mouth and a strawberry shake in the other, arm outstretched to hand it to her, was his contact photo. She remembered that day so clearly. 

It was the day after they ended their silent war, and Jughead had demanded that they all skip lunch period to go get Pop’s. The eight of them climbed into Jughead and Cheryl’s cars and sped off. Jughead placed a huge order over the phone and then fought with Veronica over who would pay. They ended up splitting it down the middle and eating outside around the cars because it was a nice enough day. 

Betty was absolutely enamored by Jughead’s easy going attitude, and chalked it up to the fact that he could throw out a, “right, Betty Cooper,” when he wanted her opinion on something. She snapped the photo and quickly took the milkshake, swallowing half of it in one gulp and making eye contact with him the whole time.

She stopped staring at the photo and answered the call before it went to voicemail.

“Hello?”

_”Betty Cooper, where the hell are you and why the hell aren’t you in my bed?!”_

_Oops._

“Jughead Jones, did you read the note that’s on the fridge?”

“What?” He asked, and Betty heard him stomping into the kitchen, _“There’s no fucking note on the… oh._ ” Then he read the note out loud which said: 

“Do not wake up and flip out, Jughead Jones. I took the Jeep to go get us food from Pop’s because all you had in there was stuff for coffee and a strawberry milkshake. I’ll be back in a half-hour.

“Kisses (because I can do that now), Betty Cooper.”

She heard him laugh over the phone and say, “so basically you played a cruel joke on me in order to get food. That’s just mean, Betty Cooper.”

“Jughead! What was the cruel joke I played?”

“I woke up and you were gone!”

“I left a note!”

“On the fridge!”

“Because I thought that was going to be the first place you went in the morning!”

“Well… fuck you!”

“Fuck you too!”

They both started laughing and Betty said, “I’m sorry, Jughead. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. I am being handed the food right now.”

“It’s okay. I _might_ have over-reacted.”

“You think?” She asked in a slightly raised voice.

“Stop yelling! My brain is leaking out of my ears! What did you let Cheryl do to me?” He asked in a whisper.

They were silent for a moment as Betty got back into the car and started it. 

“I panicked thinking that you left.”

“I know.”

“Even thought I know you wouldn’t,” he whispered.

“I know,” she whispered back.

They stayed on the phone in silence as Betty drove back to the Southside. She pulled into the lot and saw that Jughead was shirtless and barefoot, chain smoking cigarettes against the side of the building.

She jumped out, grabbed the bag and milkshake out of the passenger seat, and shut the door with her foot. She walked over to him and handed him the shake. He took the cigarette out of his mouth, exhaled the smoke and took a sip.

Then he ducked his head and kissed her. 

And she melted into him.

“Good morning, Betty Cooper,” he whispered against her skin.

“It’s 12:45pm, Jughead Jones.”

“It’s morning for the first two hours after you wake up. I don’t make the rules.”

“Yes you do.”

He kissed her instead of responded and she lived for it. They walked inside and Jughead pulled her down for a kiss that started soft but turned incredibly hot, incredibly quickly. They broke apart gasping and were met with a smug looking Joaquin who was polishing glasses behind the bar.

Betty blushed and looked down, but she was met with Jughead’s six pack, which only made her blush harder.

“Joaquin,” Jughead greeted him. He gave him a curt nod and grabbed Betty’s hand, leading them up the stairs.

“Morning Boss Man, Boss Lady,” he called after them. _Of course_ Betty couldn’t get through the day without seeing one of their friends. Betty could only thank god that it was Joaquin and not Sweet Pea, because she would have never lived that down.

They got back to Jughead’s apartment and she walked into the kitchen. Betty noticed that Jughead had taped the note to the cabinet where the cups were and she smiled, hoping that if she left him more notes that they would end up on the cabinet too.

“I got us brunch,” she said. “Well really, I’m eating pancakes and you’re eating pancakes and burgers.”

“And a chocolate shake, apparently,” he said, pulling things out of the bag.

“Well it’s only fair that I get you one since you somehow managed to get me one last night.”

“I sure did,” he said without shame. “I was hoping you’d be more awake when I got home last night so I could talk to you.”

“Me?” She asked. Then she felt stupid, because there was no other person that I could be.

“No, the other girl I like who was pants-less in my bed last night,” he said sarcastically. 

“You like me?”

“Betty Cooper did someone spike your pancakes with stupid sauce?”

“Hey! That was mean,” she said looking down. Though he kissed her last night, she was appalled by his open declaration, telling her that he liked her.

He lifted her chin and said, “Betty Cooper. I like you a lot. Maybe too much. But I’m gonna run with it, because I don’t think I can survive without.” He kissed her softly, cupping her face with both of his hands. She wrapped her fingers around his wrists and they held each other there, both reluctant to let go.

He pulled away and kissed her forehead, then said, “I had to talk to you about the guy from that night, what we were looking for at the football party, and what we found at Red’s. But I need you to promise that you aren’t going to ask any questions or make any comments until I’m done, okay?”

She nodded her head in response to show that she could follow his directions. He laughed and kissed her again and then she laughed because he could.

He told her that the guy who she saw him holding a gun to was named Dorian, and that he was part of a rival gang called the Ghoulies, and that the Ghoulies were trying to sell drugs at and in Riverdale high. Dorian was sent to the Wyrm because Malachi, their leader, found out that the Serpents were going to be at Riverdale, and wanted in before they got there.

Jughead explained that he was holding an unloaded gun to Dorain’s head to get him to talk, and that he would never actually point a loaded gun at someone unless his life was in danger. Sweet Pea found out that whoever this current Riverdale student dealer was was going to be at the football party, but that when they got there, they couldn’t figure out who it was.

“Last night, after Sweet Pea left the room with Veronica, and right before Archie punched me, which, I still can’t believe happened, he saw a football player hand a bag of some white substance to another kid.”

Betty was itching to ask who it was, but she knew that Jughead would tell her when he needed to.

It turned out that she didn’t have to wait very long.

“It was Chuck Clayton. He’s the guy dealing.”

Betty felt her body turn to ice as he said Chuck’s name. 

“And everyone has been telling me that I should tell you and make sure you know that it was him,” Jughead finished. He watched Betty as she stood up and threw out the wrappers from her breakfast. She could tell, even with his back to her, that he was dying to say something to her.

“Remember when Cheryl made a comment about my virginity at lunch last week?” Betty asked. He nodded his head and took a sip of the strawberry milkshake, letting her know that he would be quiet and listen to what she had to say.

“Well last summer, I got too drunk at a summer party at Cher’s after watching Archie make out with some random girl. Chuck found me crying on the back steps by her pool and sat down to comfort me…”

_She was sitting on the edge of the pool with her legs dangling over and into the water. She stole the entire bottle of tequila from the kitchen and was taking slow deliberate sips as she concentrated on not walking back over to the group and punching Archie in the face._

_They had come together, and Betty thought that they were going as more than friends. Archie, on the other hand, had other ideas. As soon as they got to the party he ditched Betty with Veronica and Cheryl and headed over to where Josie McCoy and Valerie Brown were sitting with some other football players. Betty tried to keep a cool head about it, but saw red when she watched Archie pick Josie up and make out with her in front of everyone at the party. The whoops and cat-calls echoed behind her as she rushed teary-eyed into the kitchen, grabbed the fullest bottle of alcohol that she could find, and headed out to the back yard._

_At first she was incredibly mad that it was Chuck who found her, but she was too drunk to care, and by the end of their conversation, too drunk to care if they had sex. She was completely aware that it was happening, and he even asked multiple times if it was something she wanted to do. She just nodded her head and took another swig from the bottle as he unbuttoned her white jean shorts and pulled them off._

_It was mediocre, and his lips were too cold for how hot it was that day. He came in under five minutes, but Betty was too gone to lie to him about the fact that she didn’t orgasm._

_It was the only reason that the entire school didn’t know about her drunken sexcapade with Chuck Clayton. Because it would tarnish his reputation of being a “player,” even though Betty had it on good authority that most other girls faked their orgasms too._

“Archie knows,” she admitted. “I told him when we fought about it the next day.” Jughead laughed at this so Betty went on, “it actually happened the same weekend I saw you for the first time,” Betty looked up and told Jughead. She had been playing with the straw of the milkshake and hadn’t made eye contact with him yet. 

“Oh?” Jughead asked with a raised eyebrow. He was smiling a little, and Betty couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m going to kiss you now, okay? Because, I can.” He leaned in as he was speaking, and Betty met him in the middle, smashing their lips together in a such a way that Betty could feel him smiling against her lips too.

“I’m not a virgin, either,” he exclaimed quickly. “Like, if you were worried.”

She laughed, “I wasn’t, but thank you for letting me know.” He smiled like a proud little kid and she felt herself wanting to stroke her hands through his hair since his beanie was off. “Do you want to tell me about it?” 

“I mean I can,” he shrugged. Betty realized he hadn’t been expecting that she’d want to know, so she threaded her fingers through his and kissed his knuckles.

“You don’t have to tell me,” she whispered. 

He shook his head no and said, “No. It’s not a secret or anything. Her name was Sabrina. Is Sabrina, she's not dead, I mean, she could be? I don’t know, we don’t talk. Obviously, because I talk to you. I mean, I talk to a lot of people…” 

_This is physically painful,_ Betty thought. She pulled his head down with both of her hands and kissed him to shut up. His next thought died on her lips and she felt him relax into the kiss.

_Ah, much better._

When she pulled away he had his eyes shut and was smiling into the air. “Sabrina. Not dead. That you know of.”

“Right,” he started and took a deep breath. “So she used to live here, and when my dad got sent away, her mom would make her come by and check on me, make sure I was okay. One night I was really fucked up and crying, actually, and she came in to hug me and I kissed her. I knew that she was attracted to me, but I wasn’t trying to take advantage of her or our ‘friendship’ so I didn’t do anything up until that night. But we had sex. I don’t really remember it. I think I blacked it all out.” He looked down at his hands and shuddered.

Betty asked, “what happened?”

“Well. She and her mom moved two days later. I haven’t heard from her since.”

Betty sat there opened mouthed and completely silent. When she could finally speak, she only managed a strangled, “no,” before bursting into laughs.

“I didn’t laugh at your story!” 

“My story didn’t involve the other party skipping town forty-eight hours later!” Betty laughed back. Jughead looked genuinely upset so she stood up to climb into his lap, but the _literal_ snake that he was, he stood up and captured her first, throwing her over his shoulder and tickling her sides and he ran back into his room. She was screaming for him to stop and was completely out of breath when he dropped her to the bed.

A predatory look crossed over his face and he crawled up the bed to her, throwing one leg over his hip as he moved. 

“I am going to do things to you, Betty Cooper,” he said, each word accentuated by a kiss to her exposed neck. “It’s more of a need, than a want, which is why I said ‘going.’”

“Oh yeah?” She asked breathily. She didn’t know what these things were, but she knew she needed them to happen immediately. Her skin was on fire and his kisses were both the match, and the bucket of water, bringing her down from the edge just as fast as it set her off again.

“Yes,” he mumbled against her collarbone. “But for now,” he said, moving up so he could lay his head on her chest, “I am going to lay right here with you. Because I am hungover. And plan on punching Sweet Pea tomorrow since I can’t punch Veronica or Red or Toni. And you, you are going to play with my hair and turn on a movie and not tell anyone I made the demand about my hair.”

Betty smiled and felt giddy at the idea of spending an afternoon with Jughead laying on top of her. He handed her the remote and she scrolled through Netflix before settling on re-starting Parks and Rec. 

“Jughead,” she whispered down at him. But he started snoring, loudly, and Betty felt her eyes getting droopy and let herself fall asleep to the sound of Leslie Knope’s voice.

Around 6:00pm she was woken by the abrupt departure of Jughead. She raised up slightly, about to call out to him and ask where he was going, when she heard the bathroom door slam and the sound of someone emptying the contents of their stomach. 

Betty was glad she ate first thing when she woke up and was able to keep it down right then and there, otherwise she’d be in the same exact position he was in. He came back to the room about thirty minutes later and looked like a new person. Betty had heard the shower turn on and assumed he was cleaning off the previous night from his skin and was pleasantly surprised to find a dripping wet Jughead in only a towel standing in front of her.

“How are you feeling?”

“I’m going to kill Cheryl,” he said, but with a smile. There was color in his skin and the bags under his eyes started to go away.

“I know,” she responded. She got up on her knees on the bed so she could be eye level with him. “I got Cheryl to cover for me with Alice and tell her I was spending the night at her house again. So if you don’t want to drive me over there, Cher will come get me.”

“Who said I wanted you to go to Red’s?”

“Well I’m not going to go home,” Betty said.

“No you’re going to stay here,” Jughead said matter-of-factly.

“What? How? I don’t have my bag or my books or my clothes or—”

“Don’t the girls bring your clothes in every day?”

“Well…”

“And didn’t Red make you leave all your books at school on Friday because she didn’t want you doing any work this weekend?”

“I mean…”

“And don’t you have an army of Serpents that could carry said books for you if you asked?”

“Okay! So in this very specific scenario, I can stay here and not go home or to Cheryl’s,” Betty said, collapsing back onto the bed and looking up at him. “I don’t have a toothbrush,” she said. “I did the whole, ‘use your finger and hope for the best,’ thing this morning.”

“Good thing I have an extra under the sink,” Jughead said with a smirk. Then his face turned soft as he said, “you can go to Red’s if you really want. I don’t want to like, keep you here against your will.”

“What! Jughead, no,” she said, scrambling back up and threw her arms around his neck. “I do. I really do. I’m just overthinking, that’s it.” She pulled back and he nodded, still looking down. “If I really want to leave, I’ll tell you, okay?”

“Okay,” he said with a kiss to her nose. “Now not that I don’t want you to see me naked, because I do, I _really, really,_ do. But you aren't going to see me naked as I change into sweatpants,” he spun in a circle to indicate his nudity under his towel. “Can you do us a huge favor and see if there is _anything_ I can cook for dinner?”

“You’re going to cook for me?” Betty asked with a raised eyebrow.

“If there’s anything to cook, yes.”

They ended up ordering another pizza. Betty got a salad and watched in hysterics as she forced bites of it down Jughead’s throat. They sat cross-legged on his bed and laughed as they ate and watched Parks and Rec. It felt so familiar and normal. They still were able to laugh and talk and joke around, but in between bites and jabs, they would kiss each other. Sometimes it was just a peck, and sometimes Betty had to remain very conscious about the plastic container of salad she was holding in her lap and make sure she didn’t drop it.

Jughead cleared all of the food from the room and Betty climbed under the covers around 9:00pm. They made a plan to leave at 7:30am so they could grab breakfast, and Jughead made a promise to Betty that he would buy groceries. Or give her money to buy groceries. Or follow her around the store putting things in the cart that she couldn’t reach and paying for the groceries. Whichever she’d prefer.

She’d prefer the one where he was the most involved.

Betty fell asleep with her head on Jughead’s chest again and to him stroking her hair as he finished an episode. She wanted to stay up and continue talking, prolong this moment of pure bliss, but she dozed off mid-sentence. She kept trying to pick up and continue but Jughead whispered a “shh, baby, just sleep,” and Betty realized she’d never be able to sleep without him again.

//////////

“Merry Christmas!” Sweet Pea yelled when he saw them walking down the hall. 

They had driven in together, as always, and ate breakfast in the car, as always, and walked through the door holding hands, something new as of last week. But something was different. Instead of Jughead picking her up that morning, Betty woke up to him snoring and snuck in a quick shower before kissing him awake and getting him to, reluctantly, start his day.

The kissing was very new too.

Betty giggled as Sweet Pea placed a Santa hat on her head. He tried to put one on top of Jughead’s beanie, but Jughead punched him in the face before that could happen.

“Hey! What the fuck was that for?” Sweet Pea yelled at Jughead. He lifted his arm to swing back but Betty and Veronica had the same idea and jumped in front of them, oddly enough, with Betty standing in front of Sweet Pea and Veronica in front of Jughead.

“I was hungover all day yesterday from your girlfriend’s margaritas on Saturday!”

“I’m not his girlfriend,” Veronica interjected from in front of him, but no one seemed to hear, all completely stunned by Jughead’s uncharacteristic outburst. Jughead never really yelled, except for that one time at Pop’s, and he didn’t really resort to violence unless someone else started it. But to punch Sweet Pea in the face over margaritas and a Santa hat?

“That part aside, I’m not going to— Veronica move, he’s not going to do anything,” he said. Veronica happily stepped to the side, but Betty stayed where she was. Jughead raised an eyebrow at her and she raised one right back. She was not about to let them get into a fist fight in the middle of the hallway first thing Monday morning.

“Blue and Gold! Now! Seriously? I cannot believe we are doing this right now,” she huffed.

They all walked to the Blue and Gold and Betty resumed her position between Jughead and Sweet Pea. She made sure to stay closer to Sweet Pea because he had a tendency to just attack without really thinking anything through. Though, Jughead was the one the throw that punch, which was entirely unprovoked, even if he said he was going to do it yesterday.

“Okay,” Betty breathed, gesturing to Jughead, “you can continue.”

Sweet Pea got to it first, turning to Veronica and saying, “Veronica, you wound me. We’re going to have to talk about this whole girlfriend thing later.” She rolled her eyes and then Sweet Pea turned to Jughead. “Now why are you punching me at 8:00am?”

“Because your girl— _Veronica’s_ — margaritas killed me to a point where I didn’t move all day.”

“You got up to throw up at like, 6:00pm,” Betty chimed in. “It was disgusting.”

“Thanks, Betty,” Jughead said back, glaring at her.

“And you stood outside barefoot waiting for her to come back yesterday afternoon,” Joaquin added.

“I am _seriously_ going to kill you both,” he growled.

“Well they were also made by Betty and Cheryl and I don’t see you trying to punch them!” Sweet Pea kept yelling, completely ignoring the separate conversation happening.

“I’m not going to punch Toni or Red. And I’m _definitely_ not going to punch Betty,” Jughead said darkly. Sweet Pea realized his mistake and backtracked.

“Okay, fair about Betty. _And_ about Cheryl, I guess. But why not Toni! You’ve punched Toni before,” Sweet Pea whined.

Without any hesitation Jughead shrugged and said, “I’m afraid of Red.”

Sweet Pea seemed to consider this for a moment. Finally he said, “yeah okay, that makes sense. Me too.” Betty sighed in relief, glad that this was over, when Sweet Pea said, “hey. How does Betty know when you puked? It’s not like she…” he trailed off and looked between them quickly. “I MISSED YOUR FIRST KISS?” He yelled. Everyone cringed at his volume.

“Inside voice, Sweet Pea,” Cheryl said.

Now that all conflict had been resolved (as fast as it had begun), Betty moved to Jughead’s side and asked, “Sweet Pea, why would you want to be part of our first kiss? Even if it did happen,” Betty added on.

“Well because you guys are my best friends and have been _eye fucking_ for weeks now and maybe a kiss or million would break up the sexual tension that we’ve all been drowning in for the last month!”

His words came out all in one breath and got louder and louder until he was basically yelling.

“Whoa,” Fangs whispered. Joaquin nodded and, nothing the burning blush of Betty’s face and Jughead’s murderous gaze, decided to change the topic.

“Uh, Pea,” Joaquin said skeptically, “it’s November 2nd. Christmas is basically two months away. Why are you starting our day with Santa hats and violence?”

“What?” Sweet Pea asked. Joaquin gestured down at the Santa hats in his hand. Sweet Pea seamed to remember how he got punched in the first place because he exclaimed, “Oh! Everyone knows that Christmas starts the day after Halloween,” Sweet Pea said at the same time as Cheryl spoke up with a “Christmas begins November 1st at midnight.” Joaquin stood frozen in place which gave him a great opportunity to put a Santa hat on his head.

“What about Thanksgiving?” Jughead asked. He was standing behind Betty and had his triceps resting on her shoulders and had his hands overlapping on her head. “It’s literally the best holiday of the year.”

“Why,” Veronica asked, “because you get to eat?”

“Yes absolutely. No questions asked.”

Betty tilted her head back so she could look at him. He was smiling at something Fangs had said in response, but she wasn’t even paying attention. She was admiring how amazing he was and how his smile could light up a room and turn a fight between friends to an early morning debate about when the holidays started.

The first bell rang and Cheryl handed Betty a bag of clothes to change into and Sweet Pea realized that she wasn’t wearing her Alice Approved Outfit and put two and two together about where Betty slept that night. So instead of arguing, Jughead decided to humor him and place a searing kiss to Betty’s lips while everyone was looking. 

The yells and claps that broke free from their friends were deafening and Betty blushed as Jughead bowed and she realized in that moment that she was, without any sliver of a doubt, completely and utterly in love with Jughead Jones.

* * *

“Tell me why you have Chuck Clayton dealing drugs out of Riverdale high?” Jughead yelled in Dorian’s face again. 

_It was Monday night and he had just dropped Betty off at her house. He was contemplating how much time was too little time to ask if he could sneak into her bedroom window when Sweet Pea ran over to him._

_“We have to deal with Dorian tonight,” he said in a whisper. “We need some form of answers before we go into this next week.”_

_Jughead knew he was right, but he wanted to run upstairs and take a quick shower before heading back out to Betty’s. He spent two nights with her and couldn’t believe that he was going to have to get used to not spending every night with her._

_“Okay,” he huffed. Sweet Pea nodded and gave a two finger salute to Joaquin and Fangs. The four of them marched up the stairs and headed into the apartment they had put Dorian in. They gave him plenty of food and water, and let him move around. The windows were barred over with four-inch iron rods, and the glass was bullet proof. The door only locked from the outside and Jughead and Sweet Pea had the only copies. It was also soundproofed, but that isn’t matter much to anyone there._

_Except for Jughead._

Jughead nodded at Sweet Pea and he delivered another punch to Dorian’s face. He spit out blood and Jughead leaned down so they were eye level. He could barely see the white of his left eye with how swollen it was. His nose was bleeding and a cut above his eyebrow had reopened.

“I’m not going to ask again,” Jughead said lowly. “But make no mistake, we’ll get this out of you tonight, but I’ll let this guy do all the questioning next,” he said with a thumb in Sweet Pea’s direction. “So, one more time: tell me why you have Chuck Clayton dealing drugs out of Riverdale high?”

Dorian stayed still and silent at first, but then he spit blood from his mouth at Jughead’s face and said, “ask your little girlfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you happy now!? You got yourself a bughead kiss!
> 
> Were you expecting the Chuck thing or no? I have been attempting to understand that storyline for WEEKS but I finally got it. It's literally mapped out on paper on my wall.
> 
> Check back in Thursday because I started writing a different Bughead story (but the new one is V unique and I will definitely tell you why on thurs!)
> 
> Come tumble w me so we can talk about fics and sneak peaks @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	11. Breathe Me In Like Air Tonight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jughead’s smirk just grew into a big smile that took over his whole face. He sat back down next to Betty and turned towards her. The entire world disappeared when he looked at her. His eyes were boring holes into her soul and she was ready to just hand it over to him without question. 
> 
> His eyes twinkled and he raised an eyebrow in question. She gave her shoulders a slight shrug as to say “I’m ready.”
> 
> He nodded his head as if to affirm what he was really about to do. He got a little closer to Betty and shrugged off his Serpent jacket, placing it gently on her shoulders. It was so warm and much softer then she’d ever imagine it being. 
> 
> Then he grabbed the front of the jacket and pulled her in close to kiss her. He placed a featherlight kiss against her nose, and then her cheeks, and then under her chin and Betty had to do everything in her power to not moan right there. 
> 
> He lifted his head to face her and mouthed “trust me?” Betty nodded, not even giving it a second thought.
> 
> And then he kissed her. Hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves!
> 
> Here's a cute little chap for you. I had a _rough_ week so this is more of a filler + friends chapter for you.
> 
> I'm also writing a new piece which you can find here!
> 
> I hope you're staying safe and healthy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, just like to write them. Also this is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine!

_Fantasy — Alina Baraz_

“FUCK,” Jughead screamed as he slammed his hands on the steering wheel and jumped out of the car. Betty, who sat in the front seat holding a scalding hot chocolate tried her best not to burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter at the site in front of her.

Jughead’s precious Jeep had stalled out in the middle of the woods on their way to a bonfire night that Cheryl was having. He was cursing more than Betty had ever heard someone curse (and Sweet Pea was one of her best friends) and popped the hood of the Jeep, only to be met with billowing smoke.

Betty couldn’t help but laugh now. 

Jughead had thrown his beanie on the ground and Betty honestly thought that he might finally rip out his hair for real. He was pacing, a move usually only reserved for Joaquin, and Betty knew that if she didn’t intervene quickly he’d probably blow a gasket.

She pulled out her phone and dialed the only person who she thought might be somewhat helpful in this situation.

“Coop!” He exclaimed after picking up on the first ring. “What’s up? Are you guys heading over now?”

Betty laughed at his excitement and said, “yes. But something happened, and right now I have a huge favor to ask.”

“Anything, Coop. Hit me.”

So twenty minutes later, after Betty had talked Jughead out of ripping out the engine and throwing it in the woods, Sweet Pea and Veronica arrived. 

“Jughead Jones, you cant rip an engine out of a car when it does something you don’t like, that’s not how life works. And remember when you said that you couldn’t kiss me in the Jeep because if I rejected you you’d have to throw the whole thing out? Well tearing out an engine is basically the same thing.”

He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers. Betty could physically feel his heart rate going down as he started to de-escalate. 

However, he stiffened when he saw the car roll up. 

“What the honest to god that I don’t believe in fuck is he doing here? And Jesus, Veronica is here too? I thought we were _meeting_ everyone.”

“Relax, Jughead. I asked him to meet us here. I needed a toolbox from my house and V is the only person who knows where it is,” Betty said softly. She recently had been trying out different names to call him other than “Jughead” or “Jughead Jones” because it was an honest to god (that he didn’t believe in) mouthful.”

“What? Why?”

“Well,” she said, taking a deep breath, “I have experience working on cars. My dad taught me.” She figured she needed to quickly gloss over the dad part and move straight into, “remember? I was going to help with your motorcycle.”

She detangled herself from him and walked over to Pea, who picked her up and swung her around like a rag doll. Betty was around the same size as Veronica, and with the way Sweet Pea was constantly throwing her around, Betty didn’t even want to think about the logistics of their relationship.

“Do you have my stuff?” She asked when he put her down. He nodded and grabbed her toolbox out of the back seat. She gave Veronica a quick hug, said thank you and then walked back over to the Jeep. Jughead was sitting in the driver’s seat with his legs dangling out of the door, smoking a cigarette.

“What’s up, Boss Man?” Sweet Pea asked as they walked over. He had is arm over Veronica’s shoulder and she was smiling up at him. Betty had never seen her so happy, and she didn’t know how to handle her excitement about it

“Oh you know, my Jeep is falling apart,” he said angrily. Betty walked over to him and kissed him softly.

“Your Jeep is fine. It’s most likely a leak somewhere. It’s definitely _not_ an engine problem, so please stop threatening to take it out and throw it in the woods.”

Sweet Pea broke out into laughter at this, and Jughead started to stand up and move towards him, but Betty jumped in front of him and kissed him hard, grateful that it was something she could do now.

Ever since the week before when they first kissed, Jughead had become so much more on edge than usual. Normally, Sweet Pea laughing at a joke like that wouldn’t set him off, but recently, the smallest inconvenience or what could be conceived as a threat towards Betty completely set him off. 

She couldn’t figure out why. Maybe it was because they were finally “together,” or whatever than meant, but he had become incredibly protective of her. He snuck into her room via a ladder every night around 11:30 after Alice had fallen asleep, and drove her every where, even if it was out of his way.

Betty wasn’t complaining about it though. It was nice to feel protected and safe, however, she didn’t really know from what.

Betty broke away from Jughead and whispered, “relax,” in his ear before walking over to the hood of the car. 

“Okay Jug, why don’t you and Veronica have her driver take you both to the bonfire. I need Pea’s help because he knows the most about cars and if it _is_ an engine problem, he’s going to know how to follow the directions given.”

Jughead looked like the last thing he wanted to do was go _anywhere_ without Betty, but based on her tone, he realized he had no choice. He came over and kissed her, telling her to be safe, and then pointing to Pea and telling _him_ to keep her safe. Sweet Pea just saluted Jughead and kissed Veronica on the cheek.

After they had both left, Betty let out a Hugh sigh that she didn’t know she was holding. She walked over to the hood of the car and held the flashlight up so she could see what was going on.

“What’s up, Boss Lady?” Sweet Pea asked, walking over.

“I need you to hold this for me. I think I can see the problem, but I don’t know.”

“Okay,” he said with a nod. With his help she was able to repair a quick leak and get the car running again. It took no more than thirty minutes to do, but she knew if Jughead was there that he would be freaking out the entire time.

They got in the car and started driving in the direction that Cheryl said the fire would be. They arrived and saw the rest of their friends cars in small lot and could see the glimmering orange light of the fire dancing in the trees.

They jumped out of the car and Betty leaned up against it, facing Sweet Pea.

“Hey Pea?” Betty asked slowly. “Is there something going on with Jughead?”

She saw his body stiffen slightly and he turned towards Betty, trying to fix his face, but having a definite issue doing it.

“Nothing, I don’t think. Why do you ask?” His answer was calm and collected, and matched the tone of his voice, and if Betty didn’t know him well enough, she’d believe him.

But Betty knew Sweet Pea. She knew him well.

“Well,” she started, “because about twenty seconds into our conversation about it you pulled out your brass knuckles and started twirling them between your fingers.”

Sweet Pea’s face turned white and she laughed, grabbing them from his hand and copying his anxious movements. He smiled softly at her and pulled her in for a hug. Betty tucked her face in the inside of his jacket and sighed. 

“There’s something wrong?”

He took a deep breath, probably trying to figure out the best way to say “no” while also saying “yes.”

“Honestly, Coop, you’re gonna have to talk to him yourself. I know some shit went down last week, but I really don’t know the answers.”

Betty pulled back and studied his face. Even though it was dark, she could see his expression through the firelight that was bouncing off of the trees. She knew that if she looked at him long enough that he would cave if he was lying. 

But he didn’t.

Betty tucked her face back into his jacket and let out a big huff of air and nodded against his t-shirt.

“You good?” Sweet Pea asked against the top of her head. She nodded again and he placed a kiss to her hair. “Okay then. Let’s head over before he tries to rip my head off.” Betty laughed and followed him back to where the fire was. 

Everyone was sitting in a circle around it. Joaquin, Kevin and Fangs were on one log, and Toni and Cheryl were across from them. Betty and Sweet Pea found Jughead and Veronica were sitting on one together. After a quick explanation of what had happened, Sweet Pea decided he was playing fire-master, so he sat on the dirt in between Veronica’s legs.

“I think we should play a game,” Cheryl said. Everyone made some sort of moan of protest, but since Cheryl was the one who made the proposition, they all knew they had no choice.

“I’ll bite,” Jughead said, surprising everyone. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well,” Cheryl said, drawing out the word, “since you won’t play any hardcore drinking games after what happened at my party…” Everyone laughed at this. The story of Jughead being too hungover to move for almost twenty-four hours was one that Sweet Pea loved to bring up.

“Can we drop this?” Jughead begged, but was met with a chorus of “nope”’s and “fuck no, dude,” instead.

“Fine, Red,” he conceded. “What are we playing?”

“What do you want to play?” 

“Truth or dare,” he said strongly, again shocking everyone. With the way Jughead had been acting that week, the last thing anyone expected was a game where he might have to expose himself. 

But maybe that’s what he wanted.

“I’m down,” Joaquin said, taking a swig of his beer. He and Jughead signed up to be designated drivers, so Joaquin chose against having anything more than a beer.

“Fine,” Toni huffed. She obviously was going to agree with whatever Cheryl wanted to do, but seemed morally opposed to the idea of Truth or Dare. As everyone was getting situated and ready to play, Betty spoke up with a request.

“Okay so I’m totally down to play,” she said hesitantly, “but can we uh, establish the rules before we are subjected to Cheryl’s torture?”

“Torture you, sweet cousin, why would I ever do that?” She asked in a sugary voice and Betty knew she was in for some trouble.

She was not, however, expecting Sweet Pea to fully flip his shit.

“COUSINS?” He screamed and stood up. He was rapidly looking between them, trying to figure out when he missed something. “Explain, AHORA.”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Veronica if you’re dipping in and out of Spanish, Pea,” Jughead said with a laugh. Sweet Pea couldn’t even turn around to respond, instead only saying:

“Yeah. I only repeat what she says during sex though.”

Everyone turned to Veronica with open mouths but she just smirked at them all. Betty stood up and walked to Cheryl and sat next to her and faced Sweet Pea. 

“Yes, cousins. _Which_ is why we need to establish a rule. Like a _no kissing anyone’s cousin or… person_ rule.” The group looked at her funny so she asked, “what?”

“Why wouldn't you just say girlfriend or boyfriend, Coop?” Sweet Pea asked. He looked truly confused and Betty felt kind of bad that she and Cheryl freaked him out so much. “Because I don’t know who’s actually like… a person with a person?” Betty’s cheeks were growing so hot and she couldn’t stand it. She walked back over to Jughead and sat down next to him.

“Betty,” he said calmly, “everyone here is in a relationship.”

She snapped her head up fast and looked at him. This was the first time that she was being made aware that there were in a relationship. That she was _his._ He had done and said some things recently that could be seen as such, but it was never explicitly said. She had felt that way in her own mind since she realized that she had feelings for him. But she had never heard him say it out loud.

“Is this like Homecoming when you decided that we were going together and I didn’t know?” 

“I mean, I thought you did know,” he said slowly. The redness in her face didn’t get any better so she just asked:

“Since when?!” The whole group broke out into laughs and she threw her hand up, indicating for him to stop.

“We’ll talk about this later,” he said, shutting her down. She wanted to press him for more details, but with the way he was acting recently, Betty decided not to push it.

And they were in front of everyone.

“Okay now that Betty has been made aware of her relationship that we’ve all known about for over a month…” Sweet Pea said, “can someone please explain how you’re cousins and how I didn’t know about it?”

“I mean it’s probably because you don’t listen,” Cheryl said, picking at her nails. “we’ve talked about it at least a dozen times. You were there when we talked about Betty’s sister living with me.”

Sweet Pea’s face looked like it was moving in slow motion. Every emotion passed over his face until he landed on a mixture of hurt and confusion. 

“I’m going to use my Truth or Dare questions to get more information about this because this is fucking ridiculous,” he hissed at Betty and Cheryl. Turning to the group he asked, “did you all know about this?”

Everyone made some form of affirmative noise while Jughead said, “I spend _close_ to 100% of my time with Betty,” so Sweet Pea just sat down angrily, poking the fire with a stick and mumbling to himself.

“Okay,” Toni said, breaking the silence, “who wants to go first?”

“Me!” Cheryl stood up quickly. She walked around so she was squatting directly in front of Betty and Jughead. Betty felt her chest tighten with anxiety in preparation of what was to come.

“Boss Man,” she said with a smirk. Betty turned her head so she was facing him. He looked completely calm, if not even excited by being chosen first.

“Yes, Red?” 

“Truth,” she straightened up so she was looking down at him, “or dare?”

“Oh, Red,” he said, standing up himself so he was towering over her. “Dare.”

This didn’t seem to shock Cheryl in the slightest. She just smirked even more and a small sliver of doubt danced across Jughead’s face.

“Okay, Boss Man... I dare you to ‘confirm’ your relationship with Betty Boop, so that _she_ knows. However you see fit.”

Jughead’s smirk just grew into a big smile that took over his whole face. He sat back down next to Betty and turned towards her. The entire world disappeared when he looked at her. His eyes were boring holes into her soul and she was ready to just hand it over to him without question. 

His eyes twinkled and he raised an eyebrow in question. She gave her shoulders a slight shrug as to say “I’m ready.”

He nodded his head as if to affirm what he was really about to do. He got a little closer to Betty and shrugged off his Serpent jacket, placing it gently on her shoulders. It was so warm and much softer then she’d ever imagine it being. 

Then he grabbed the front of the jacket and pulled her in close to kiss her. He placed a featherlight kiss against her nose, and then her cheeks, and then under her chin and Betty had to do everything in her power to not moan right there. 

He lifted his head to face her and mouthed “trust me?” Betty nodded, not even giving it a second thought.

And then he kissed her. Hard.

They had kissed in public many times now, but never like this. On Wednesday they had even put on a bit of a show for Archie’s benefit. Betty was working the overnight shift and Pop’s and Jughead was at the counter, refusing to leave until she did, when Archie walked in. 

Betty knew that sometimes he would come in late and get a bunch of food and then start drinking alone. She only knew this because she was the waitress on the clock when he’d come in.

Betty felt Jughead stiffen under her finger tips and gave his hand a squeeze. She walked down to the end of the counter and helped Archie with his order. 

“Do you want the usual, Arch?”

He didn’t say anything, just grunted in what Betty took to be a yes and placed it. He handed her the cash and then sat down on the opposite end of where Betty and Jughead were. 

Betty was staring at Archie, wondering when it all went to shit when Jughead grabbed her face, pulled her across the counter and forced his tongue against her mouth.

_Right. This is when it happened._

Jughead continued to kiss her hard and Betty struggled to keep up. He pulled away slowly and pressed his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly, “I just couldn’t help but rub it in his face that you’re _mine.”_

That kiss in the diner felt like Jughead was trying to claim his “territory,” which was why Betty was so overwhelmed when Jughead kissed her for the dare.

Maybe it was because Archie was watching before, or maybe it was because there was so much else going on in Jughead’s mind, or maybe it was because Betty was still getting used to him kissing her on a whim, but that the kiss he planted on her lips in front of all their _real_ friends felt more vulnerable and desperate than any other kiss they'd had since their first kiss. 

Usually their kisses felt like they were both drowning and both lifting each other up. Now, however, with this kiss, it felt like Jughead was sinking further into the recesses of his mind, and Betty’s lips were the only things that were keeping him afloat.

When they broke, he pressed his forehead against hers and held her cheeks in his hands, keeping his face as close to hers as he could.

 _”Mine,”_ he whispered against her skin. He slowly pulled away and looked back at their group, who had mixtures of satisfaction, happiness and discomfort dancing across their faces. Sweet Pea started the roaring applause which snapped everyone out of their reveries and back to reality. 

To seal the deal, Jughead took off his beanie and placed it on Betty’s head, adjusting the points of the crown so it sat perfectly on her head. He kissed her softly and turned to Cheryl to ask, “Satisfied, Red?”

Cheryl, who was never thrown off, ever, answered with a perfectly witty, “well it would have been more _satisfying_ if it were some girl on girl, but it proved it’s point. It’s your turn to ask someone, Boss Man.”

Betty smiled at the term. She found it charming that her friends were calling him “Boss Man” too, even though Cheryl would never let anyone be her boss ever.

“Pea!” Jughead yelled, “Truth or—”

“Dare,” Sweet Pea said without hesitation. Jughead, Joaquin, Toni and Fangs all seemed to know what was going on, but everyone else was clueless. Before Jughead could say anything, Sweet Pea took off his jacket, looked at Veronica and said, “sorry, Ron.”

“Can someone tell me what’s going on here?” Kevin asked looking at everyone else. Betty shrugged and hugged herself closer to a cackling Jughead. She had no idea how he was warm considering she was freezing and wearing his hat and his jacket.

“Hey Pea!” Fangs yelled, “Let’s make it a show, okay?”

“Shut the fuck up, Fogarty. It’s cold. And people other than Veronica are about to see my penis. _Coop_ is about to see my penis,” he said pained. He kept taking his outer layers off while everyone looked to Jughead to finally explain what was about to happen.

“Every time we play Truth or Dare, the first Serpent to get ‘dared’ has to streak for thirty-seconds. Now, Sweet Pea could have chosen truth, but he know’s what I’d ask him. So he picks ‘dare’ every time.”

“So Sweet Pea is about to streak?”

“Yes.”

“And Sweet Pea, you’re most nervous about Betty seeing your penis?”

“Correct,” he replied as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.

“Why?” Toni asked. Betty was also wondering, but with the way that their friendship worked, she honestly wasn’t that surprised.

“Because she’s Coop,” he said after thinking about it. When no one said anything else, Sweet Pea stood in front of everyone, completely naked and barefoot for all of world to see. Cheryl was staring with her hands clamped over her mouth, desperately trying not to laugh.

“Like what you see, Red?” He asked Cheryl, turning slowly. Jughead had placed his hands over Betty’s eyes, and she could feel him dying with laughter. “Now who wishes they could have gotten a little taste of this—”

“Sweets, you’re naked in front of a flame, and your girlfriend is _right_ here,” Veronica said darkly. Betty could see his skin flush hot through the tiny crack she made in Jughead fingers.

“Oooh, Pea. You’ve got a working class booty!” Betty yelled. He swung around and Betty caught a glimpse of his “little Pea” that he so fondly speaks of and squeaked. She wasn’t well versed in dicks, but considering all she could really compare it to was Chuck’s, she would say that Veronica was incredibly happy with herself.

“Okay, can I start running now?” Sweet Pea asked, dancing from foot to foot. “It’s fucking cold out here Jones.”

“‘Round the cars, back through here and one lap ‘round the circle.”

“Fuck you.”

“Go!”

Everyone, including Sweet Pea, starting yelling as he began running. Jughead removed his hands from Betty’s face so she could watch the insane scene in front of her. He was alternating holding his balls with both hands to then letting go and using his arms to power him forward. He was also scream singing a Lana Del Rey song which made the entire situation more comical.

“This is the most incredible thing I've ever seen,” Betty choked out between laughs. She looked around at everyone around her, all in hysterics over their giant friend running through the woods, as naked as the day he was born, scream singing on a Friday night. Betty, who spent too much time being terrified in the _before_ and numb in the _after,_ had fallen in love in the _now,_ not just with one person, but with all of the people who came with him.

When Sweet Pea returned, he grabbed the handle of tequila off of the ground and stood there, completely naked, chugging from the bottle.

“Ron, I am sorry. But we are both going to regret I did that later,” he said to Veronica while gesturing to the bottle. Then he turned to Betty and made direct eye contact wit her as to say “you’re next, bitch.”

“Fangsey! Truth or Dare?”

“What?” Fangs asked, shocked. He, like everyone else, assumed that Sweet Pea was going to pick Betty or Cheryl so he could get answers. “Why me? Aren’t you going to try to get answers from Betty or Cheryl?”

“Well on my lovely evening jog that Boss Man suggested I go on,” Sweet Pea said, making a grand sweeping motion with his arms towards the vast darkness of the woods, “I had an epiphany.”

“Good use of the word ‘epiphany,’” Joaquin said and dodged a sock that was aimed in his direction. 

“Okay but before you go into an epiphany having to do with my girlfriend, can you put your clothes on?” Toni asked. She was putting together the final touches of her s’more, which Sweet Pea snatched from her hands and said, “yes.”

Sweet Pea was getting dressed and Betty whispered into Jughead’s ear, “can I sleep over tonight?”

“I already told Veronica to cover for us,” he whispered back, re-positioning the beanie and kissing her nose.

Now that he was dressed, Sweet Pea sat down next to Veronica and said, “Coop will tell me when she’s ready to tell me. If I force it out of her in front of all of you she won’t tell me.”

“That very…”

“Good best friend of me? I know.” Sweet Pea said, making another s’more. Betty, Cheryl and Veronica made eye contact over his head and rolled their eyes. Sweet Pea was hellbent on being Betty’s best friend, which, he was. But sometimes he got too intense about it, and they were learning to leave well enough alone.

“Anyway,” he said, “Fangsey, Truth or Dare?”

No hesitation on Fangs’s end led to a quick, “Truth.”

Sweet Pea took a moment to think about it before asking, “okay, do you like anyone at RHS?”

“Pass.” Another immediate response from Fangs.

“You sure about that?” Sweet Pea asked nervously. Betty wasn’t fully clear on the penalties of what would happen if you refused a truth, but she knew that between Sweet Pea and Cheryl, Fangs _could_ end up dead.

“One-hundred percent. Hit me with the tequila, Red.”

_Oh no._

“Fangsey,” Cheryl started, almost sympathetic towards him. He shook his head and held out his hand for the bottle. 

“Are we playing with numbers?” Jughead asked. Even he seemed nervous. From what Betty knew about Fangs, he didn’t drink too too much. A shot or two here and there was really all he could handle. But already tonight Fangs had had two beers, a margarita and was now holding a bottle of tequila. 

“Yep,” Joaquin said. “Any volunteers?”

“I’m sorry, my sweet Serpents, but _what the fuck_ does any of that mean? Why are we volunteering? Why are we standing? I need answers,” Veronica said from next to Betty.

“Numbers is where four of us stand in a circle around Fangs, all shouting numbers between one and five at him. He has to spin in a circle and then on a count of three, put a number on his forehead. If someone has that number on their foreheads already, he has to drink that many shots. If he’s the only person with the number on his head, he doesn’t have to drink.”

They were all silent, trying to figure this logic out when Kevin asked, “did you get this from New Girl?”

“No,” all of the Serpents said. Except for Sweet Pea who said, “correct.”

Kevin ended up standing up there with them all, and Fangs had to do four shots. Why he wouldn’t just pick a lower number and hope for the best was beyond Betty, but she wasn’t going to ask questions.

It was Betty’s turn next. She was dared to lick melted chocolate off of Veronica’s stomach, which caused both Sweet Pea and Jughead to adjust their pants. Veronica told everyone that she hadn’t talked to her dad since he got arrested, which then led an already somewhat emotional Jughead, to sit close to Veronica and keep his arm around her.

Toni was dared to act out one of the River Vixens’s cheers, which Betty thought was hilarious, and told everyone that she was thinking about going to AA, which then led a visibly more emotional Jughead to go over to Cheryl and hug her for the rest of the game.

Betty just angled her face down at Sweet Pea who met her gaze and shrugged quickly, also confused by what was happening. Betty realized that she had very little to drink, and came to the decision that she was going to drink them home instead.

Joaquin undoing Kevin’s belt with his teeth signaled the end of the party. Veronica, who also wasn’t really drinking but had her driver drop them off anyway, was going to stay with Sweet Pea until the fire died down. Toni was planning on staying at Cheryl’s, and since, as Joaquin put it, “Fangs is without a doubt going to throw up all over my car,” Betty agreed to drive Kevin home on her way back to Jughead’s.

Fangs had been laid on his side in the back of Joaquin’s car with a bucket next to his head. When all other hugs and kisses were given and goodbyes were made and Sweet Pea told Betty he’d call her tomorrow, they got into their different cars and drove off.

Betty lost the “please let me drive” fight with Jughead, so she offered Kevin the front seat while they drove him home. Betty listened to their quiet conversation about Joaquin, and felt her eyes closing until she was being moved from the back of the car and up the stairs to the apartment. She felt the soft comforter on Jughead’s bed being pulled over her and though she fought hard against her closed eyes to talk to him.

She was awoken again by the bed dipping and Jughead getting in next to her. He still smelled of smoke from the fire and Betty was screaming at her tired mind to wake up so she could spend some time just with him. She missed him. The him that talked to her for hours on end about everything and nothing. He was so tense and so scared all of a sudden, and Betty wanted to shake him and scream, "I'm here for you, don't you know!"

Instead she lost the internal war against sleep that her body and mind waged against her and succumbed to the darkness, using the rhythm of Jughead's heart to lull her to sleep.

* * *

_How is it the second I admit to myself that I love you, that I need you, that I will probably never survive without you, are you then wrapped up in the Ghoulies?_ Jughead thought as he stroked and pressed kisses against her hair. He had been meaning to bring it up for a week, even meant to bring it up today before his stupid Jeep broke down, but couldn't bring himself to do it. 

_Fuck you, Betty Cooper._

But even his usual, well meaning sentiment tasted bitter.

_No._

_I love you, Betty Cooper._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> VERY little Jug in this chapter. I felt like the last few were Jughead heavy an wanted to give my girl B some love.
> 
> Signing off with just a lil reminder to come tumble with me @blackberry-beee and check out my new fic here!
> 
> let me know what you think!!
> 
> xx  
> BB


	12. You Told Me Your Whole Life Story In A Few Shorts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What should we do about him?” He asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of guy in the apartment. Jughead had no idea, and had no idea how to even go about the next steps of this situation.
> 
> “I don't know, I don’t know, dude,” Jughead said, raking through his hair. _When did I lose my beanie?_ he thought. He shrugged and looked to Sweet Pea for help. It wasn’t often that he needed it, but when it came to matters of violence, or matters of Betty, and now, matters of both, Sweet Pea was the only person Jughead could find himself confiding in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves!  
> Ugh Happy Wednesday I guess. Tonight's ep made me SO MAD. I am not saying anything more in case you haven't watched it or haven't opened tumblr or just have stopped watching (after today...)
> 
> Anyway... YES IT IS WEDNESDAY. I am posting today because last night my computer crashed before I had finished and I had to rewrite the entire chapter... which is like 8.6k+ words. But I _love_ this chapter, and I hope you do too.
> 
> If you are also reading the compound (my new story) im going to be updating Saturday's now. 
> 
> That's all and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, just the story. This is Un-beta'd so any and all mistakes are mine.

_Parking Lot— Anderson .Paak_

Cheryl and Sweet Pea weren’t kidding when they said that Christmas started on November 1st.

But Jughead wasn’t kidding when he demanded they pay respect to Thanksgiving. And this year he decided that they were all going to have Thanksgiving together.

The Serpents were obviously all for it considering most of their holidays consisted of eating burgers at Pop’s and then running off to get drunk in an abandoned warehouse. It wasn’t anything new or special, and Jughead wanted to change that.

Especially since all of his new friends were so special. 

Cheryl suggested they do a “Friendsgiving” the weekend before the actual holiday, and though Jughead wanted to protest and make a big fuss about wanting to do it on the day of, he conceded to Betty’s pouty lips and big eyes and “please Jughead?”

And he had no control when it came to Betty Cooper.

“If we do this Friendsgiving this,” Joaquin said, “there has to be rules?”

“Rules?” Sweet Pea asked, tugging on the braid in Betty’s hair. She swatted him away like he was as inconsequential as a fly. They were sitting at lunch and some how Betty’s seat on Sweet Pea’s lap hadn’t changed when she and Jughead got together. He once again tried to not let it bother him, and considered it a win when she leaned across the table to kiss him in front of them all.

“Yes rules,” Joaquin went on. “Like who is bringing what and when and where and who is coming and…”

“Shhh, Quiny,” Cheryl said. “Let’s call them ‘guidelines’ so you don’t continue to have this panic attack, yes?”

Joaquin nodded his head and smiled at Cheryl. Their friendship had evolved a lot since they all started hanging out. Joaquin, who also lubricated his anxiety with tequila, had gone to Cheryl’s one night, blitzed out of his mind, and threw up on her front porch. Rather than losing her shit, Cheryl just brought him inside and let him sleep it off. From then on their friendship had just grown from there.

Joaquin’s relationship with Kevin had also developed since Halloween, which meant Kevin had been added to their already over-crowded table. Which was part of the reason that Betty was still stationed on Sweet Pea’s lap.

“Betty is going to be in charge of cooking all of the major entrees since she is probably the best cook I have ever met in my life,” Cheryl said looking at Betty.

“You are?” Jughead asked, shocked. He had never once pegged Betty to be a good cook, but then again, their entire relationship existed through eating food from Pop’s, so it wasn’t _that_ surprising that he didn’t know.

“Apparently,” Betty grumbled. Jughead grabbed her hand from across the table and played with her fingers while Cheryl kept talking.

“TT and I will be in charge of desserts, because I genuinely _cannot_ trust Jughead with them,” she said, shooting him a pointed look from across the table. Jughead shrugged in an “it’s true,” fashion and Cheryl went on. 

“The rest of you can bring _any_ side that you want, and V will supply the alcohol. Those are our _guidelines._ ”

Everyone replied with some form of affirmative noise, but Betty just looked off in the distance, not really engaging in the planning of this event, something that Jughead deemed odd. 

When the bell that signaled the end of lunch rang, Betty ran like a bat out of hell, and when Jughead got up to go after her, Veronica, who was next to him, placed her hand on his shoulder, and she and Cheryl went after her instead.

“What’s going on with Coop today, Boss Man?” Sweet Pea asked. “She started acting weird as soon as Cheryl mentioned Thanksgiving.”

“You know as much as I do,” Jughead muttered. He stood and pulled his cigarettes out of his jacket pocket and tucked one behind his ear. He walked out of the cafeteria and out of the building, heading over to his Jeep so he could smoke and think without being interrupted.

Ever since the Halloween party, Jughead had been keeping the information about Betty and the Ghoulie to himself. Obviously Sweet Pea knew, but other than that, it was an absolute secret. 

Even to Betty.

He wasn’t sure how to bring it up to her, especially since he hadn’t even had the “hey do you want to be my girlfriend,” talk with her yet. 

He had been meaning to do that.

And he _really_ couldn’t have the, “hey are you involved in a rival gang?” talk either. So he was stuck just not talking to her about anything specific for the last two and a half weeks. 

He pulled out his phone and sent her a text.

**Jughead Jones— 1:13pm:** Betty Cooper. You worry me sometimes.

Ten minutes later she responded with:

**Betty Cooper— 1:23pm:** Can I come over tonight?

He responded immediately.

**Jughead Jones— 1:24pm:** Do you work tonight?

**Betty Cooper— 1:25pm:** Yes.

**Jughead Jones— 1:26pm:** 10pm?

**Betty Cooper— 1:29pm:** Yes.

**Jughead Jones— 1:34pm:** Until then, Betty Cooper.

Getting to 10:00pm felt like walking through molasses. He could sort of see the things happening around him, and he knew he was moving, but it was so slow and so out of focus that he didn’t even realize he was sitting in the Pop’s parking lot until he killed the engine and stepped out of the Jeep.

Betty was waiting outside in a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt of his that he didn’t know she stole. He crossed the parking lot at an alarming speed and wrapped himself around her. The feeling of holding her in his arms and knowing she was safe made his shoulders unlock from his ears and float back down to their normal position.

He had trapped her arms against his body, but felt he felt her moving her head against his chest and he thought he might cry.

“Hi Jug,” he felt her mumble against his chest. He loosened his grip on her just enough to trap her lips in his and move them together slowly. He bit her bottom lip and rolled it around between his teeth. She swiped her tongue against his lip and he groaned into the kiss.

He quickly remembered where they were when a pair of headlights swept across the parking lot. Jughead pulled away from Betty and grabbed her hand, leading her over to the Jeep.

“Betty Cooper,” he said with a smile, “would it be cheesy of me to say that I missed you?”

She shook her hand and pulled out a strawberry milkshake from somewhere. Jughead had no idea if it had been in her bag or her hand or what, but he took it from her and took a huge sip, smiling as she stole it back from him and did the same.

They drove back to the Wyrm in comfortable silence. When they pulled in, Jughead blurted out, “I have to talk to you about something.”

The look of pure panic and terror on Betty’s face made him want to take it back and pretend that he hadn’t said anything. But he had. And he had to follow through it it now. Because it had been eating away at him, and he didn’t want to hide anything from her any longer.

“Oh?” She squeaked out in a panicked voice. He nodded and grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles over and over, trying to convey that things weren’t as bad as he was making them out to be.

Unless they were.

They walked hand and hand into the Warm where they found Sweet Pea and Toni at the bar. Jughead sent them a quick two finger salute and headed up to his apartment, not even bothering to as Betty if she wanted to stop and say hello.

When they got upstairs and Jughead had unlocked the door, he realized that Betty was just standing at the top of the stairs, completely spaced out. He rushed back over to her and brought her inside, whispering variations of “I promise it’s okay,” in her ear as they went.

When he finally got her inside and got her some water, he led her into his room and sat on the bed, opening his arms and inviting her in. Betty had taken to straddling his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulders and head. It served two perfect purposes, one being that it could immediately lead to a very heavy make out session with easy grinding access, or it could lead to instant relief and comfort between the two of them.

Which is what they needed right now.

“Betty,” he mumbled against her chest. She pulled back and looked down at him and he tried to read her face as best that he could. She slid off of him and laid back onto the bed, keeping her legs thrown partially over his. He laid down next to her and played with the hair that was sneaking out of her ponytail. 

“Did you know that I had a brother?” Betty asked in a whisper. She held his wrist in her hand so it stilled against her cheek. He shook his head and she went on.

“The guy from the other gang, he’s in the apartment at the end of the hall, right?” Her eyes weren’t hard or judgmental, but they were questioning. Jughead thought he was the one who needed to talk, but in hearing Betty’s voice, he knew that she had become in charge of the conversation.

Jughead nodded his head and continued to stroke her face. The more normal he could make this situation, the better. Neither of them were runners, but he didn’t know if it would actually stay that way after this conversation.

“Has he mentioned me yet?”

If Jughead thought he knew where the conversation was going, he was sorely mistaken. Because Betty not only confirming that this guy knew her, but that he would mention her was not something Jughead had prepared for.

Swallowing hard he said, “he has.”

Betty nodded, intertwining Jughead’s fingers in hers and kissing the knuckles. “I knew he looked familiar. When I saw him briefly that night. And then I completely forgot about him until the football party, and then Cheryl’s party. And then I remembered where I had seen him.”

Jughead sat up slowly and brought Betty with him. If she was going to explain this to him, she was going to explain it to Sweet Pea too. 

“Please don't get Pea yet,” Betty said reading his mind. “I just want to tell you everything I know before you drag him in here. I am too tired to deal with yelling and I know he is going to yell so just,” she took a sharp intake, “please.”

Jughead nodded again, realizing that he had been unable to speak since she asked about knowing if she had a brother.

“I won’t go get him,” he whispered. He thought back to that fateful night at Pop’s when he told her his name and his story, and how the most shocking part of it hadn’t been when she dropped ice cream all over his feet, but when she didn’t run. When she listened and accepted and later placed the first of many kisses on his cheek.

If she didn’t run then, even if just for back up, it didn’t make sense for him to run downstairs and grab Sweet Pea, even if he did love her as much as Jughead did.

But in a different way, obviously.

“At the end of my sophomore year, Alice told Polly and me that she and my dad had a kid when they were in high school. My grandmother, Alice’s mom, sent her away to some farm upstate where Alice had the baby and then put it up for adoption. My dad never knew.

“Towards the middle of the summer, this guy, about ten years older than me, who looks _just_ like me, shows up on our porch claiming that we were his biological family. My dad called “bullshit,” because apparently he had gone looking for him, for Charles, a year before, and his adoptive parents told him that Charles was dead.

“Well it turns out, they were right in the end. This guy, who said he was Charles, asked us to call him Chic. Almost immediately, Chic started acting really shady and even aggressive towards us. Alice was so starry eyed and happy that her “first born” had come home that she couldn’t see past how fucked up it really was.”

Betty took a breath and looked up from her hands and at Jughead’s face. He too, was paying attention to her hands, and was trying to figure out if he needed to move them onto his lap, but she continued before he could do anything, stuffing her palms under her thighs.

“One night, that guy, the one who is next door? He was in my house, Jughead. I don’t know what he was doing or how he knew Chick but,” she started to tear up and her movements became jerky and breathing became labored. “But that night shit just absolutely fell the fuck apart,” she finished in a whisper. 

“Baby,” Jughead muttered, pulling her towards him. Whatever this was was so much bigger than beautiful Betty Cooper, and the thought that he could have been instrumental in reopening whatever wound she had worked so hard to close made him want to strangle himself.

“They’re both dead, Jug,” Betty whispered against his shoulder, and Jughead had to strain to here her. 

“Who?” Jughead asked softly, brushing hair away from her sticky cheeks. “Who’s dead?”

“Charles, Chic, whatever you want to call him,” she said in a whisper. Her voice got even quieter, and Jughead had to bring his ear down to where her lips were. “And my dad.”

In the few months that Jughead had been getting to know Betty, he knew four things about her dad. That he didn’t approve of Polly being pregnant, which is why she was sent away, he drove an old truck that needed an oil change and that he taught Betty how to work on cars.

And that he was dead.

He had always been curious about Betty’s dad, but she barely talked about her mom, even going so far as to call her “Alice” only, that he didn’t want to pry. He knew that she would tell him on her own time, much like Sweet Pea knew Betty would tell him about her sister.

“It was the weekend before Polly was sent away,” Betty said again, her voice _just_ above a whisper now. “My dad and Chic got into an argument and then somehow Polly and Alice joined in. I was sitting on the top of the stairs, trying not to absolutely lose it, but failing miserably. There was so much screaming and so much moving and I still don’t know what happened first but then Chic was dead, laying on the floor in a pool of his own blood after my dad stabbed him with a kitchen knife no one knew he was holding.”

Jughead felt his stomach tighten up in knots at the idea that Betty saw something so horrific happen to someone she was related to. He couldn’t imagine a fraction of what she went through. 

His blood ran cold when he realized that she had to go through it twice.

“Polly was screaming and Alice ran out of the living room and into the kitchen. But when I say Polly was screaming, I mean she was _screaming._ Like, wake you from the dead, crack your next-door neighbor’s wine glass, can be heard across the world scream. And my dead turned the already bloody knife at her. It accomplished what he was looking to do, which was shut Polly up. He started to say something, but the words,” she stopped, and Jughead thought she might be sick. 

He pulled the empty wastebasket from under his bedside table and offered it to her. She shook her head and he placed it on the floor next to her.

Her eyes glazed over and she looked like she was in a trance, trying to communicate and seem normal but no emotion was meeting her eyes. “Alice killed my dad. Hit him so hard in the back of the head that he died on impact. She hit him with a crowbar. She killed my dad with a crowbar. That’s why I call her that. Alice. Because “mom” or “mother” isn’t deserving enough for the monster that she is. And the things that she made me do.”

She looked up at him with cold and vacant eyes. “She made me drag my dead dad up the stairs into their bedroom and haul him on top of the covers. She made me take off his shoes and pants and sweater so he was in his boxers and a t-shirt. She never told me why. Then she made me go back down stairs and push all of the furniture aside so we could roll Chic up in a rug and place him in the bed of my dad’s truck. 

“I don’t know what she did with him. I just know I cleaned. I cleaned for days, Jug. The smell of bleach was so strong all the time, but I couldn’t stop cleaning. My mom left me alone in the house for two days while she took Polly somewhere. This farm. The place where she went when she was pregnant with Chic. 

“Veronica and Cheryl found me cleaning up my own vomit from the bathroom floor and sobbing at the end of the two days. They took me to Cheryl’s and put me in a tub of hot water and sweet smelling soap and tried to get me to come back to it. But I apparently went into shock. I didn’t eat for four days. I just slept, and every eight hours, Cheryl would put me in a shower or bath to try and get the lingering bleach off of my skin, out of my hair.” 

He voice trailed off and Jughead had to remain as calm as possible. Because some of the most traumatic things he had ever heard just came out of Betty Cooper’s mouth, and he was seeing red. 

But he couldn’t lose it. He had to keep it together. Because Betty? Betty had completely lost it. 

He thought she might be gone.

“Betty,” Jughead said loudly, physically shaking her and trying to snap her out of it. Her arms were the first things to loosen, and what he found made him think _he_ was going to be sick.

Not only had she reopened every single scar on her palms, but there were new ones. Everywhere. As far as Jughead could tell, there wasn’t a single inch of skin on Betty’s hands that hadn't been mauled by her nails.

It was his fault. He was supposed the be paying attention to her hands. Always to her hands.

He kept trying to say her name and snap her out of it, but it was just like that day in the girls bathroom at school. Nothing he did or said got her to respond. He said her name, called her “baby,” yelled, kissed her, but nothing. Nothing worked. 

Yes, it was like that day in the bathroom, just so, so much worse.

“Okay, okay. Betty baby, please. This is going to hurt but I am going to get you in the shower because I need to… fuck what do I do?” He panicked.

_Toni._

He dialed her number faster than he had ever imagined possible. She picked up on the second ring. Jughead didn’t give her a chance to say anything.

“911. Betty. Run. Bring Sweet Pea.”

Then he hung up the call and found Betty, who had started to uncontrollably cry, thus, rubbing her torn up and bloody hands across her face. 

“Oh, Betty, Oh baby, please baby please it’s okay I’ve got you. I’ve got you,” he tried the soothe her, pulled her hands from her face. There was a pounding on the front door to which Jughead just screamed, “kick it in,” knowing that they could fix it later.

The sound of the door slamming against the wall was all that he heard. Toni and Sweet Pea walked quickly and quietly. They stood frozen in the doorway of Jughead’s bedroom, no one knowing what to do. Jughead and Betty were both covered in the blood that was streaming freely from her palms, and not for the first time, Jughead didn’t know what to do.

“Shower,” Toni said quietly. She walked out of the room and Jughead heard her turn the water on and rummage under the sink for a towel. 

Sweet Pea looked down at Jughead and asked, “do we know?”

Sweet Pea knew why Jughead had told Toni to bring him. Jughead needed Sweet Pea to know that they knew how Betty was connected. But it wasn’t the time to go into it, because Betty Cooper had moved on from sobs to full blown hyperventilation. But Jughead still couldn’t figure out what to do. 

He felt like he was watching his life unravel behind a thick pane of glass. He could see all of the variables around the situation, but couldn’t figure out the best way to communicate them to everyone else in the picture.

Sweet Pea picked Betty up so she was standing with the support of him. Then he lifted her up and brought her into the bathroom, leaving here there with Toni. 

It wasn’t the time to be mad about Toni getting to shower with Betty before he was able to. 

It was not the time at all.

Sweet Pea came out and dragged Jughead by the arm to the kitchen, sitting him down at the kitchen counter and pulling out the strawberry milkshake from earlier. He placed it in front of him and Jughead picked it up and took a grateful sip of it. 

They were silent, listening to Toni talk quietly to Betty, and wincing every time she screamed, indicating that water had hit her hands. But they needed to be cleaned before Toni could clean them, so that was the only thing that allowed Jughead to be even a little bit okay about the situation. 

“Her dad killed her brother, who is the Ghoulies connection, by the way. But then her mom killed her dad. In front of her. All of this happened in front of her. Her mom made her clean everything up. Including the bodies. Veronica and Red found her two days later, laying in bleach and her own vomit.” He took a strangled sip of his drink, “she was alone in that house for two days, bleaching everything, not sleeping, and starving herself, Pea,” his voice broke at the end and the moment that Jughead had been trying to postpone had descending upon him.

He started to cry. 

Sweet Pea knew that they only thing to do when Jughead started crying was to let it happen. So Sweet Pea let him cry until Toni came out of the bathroom. Jughead snapped up and looked at her. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

“She’s okay. She’s in your bed,” she said and Jughead stood up so fast and crushed Toni against him. He made his way to the bedroom when Toni said, “we need to fix your door and you need to shower before you go back in there.”

Jughead let out a whine like a two year old not getting what they want. Toni and Sweet Pea looked at each other and burst into fits of quiet laughter, which caused a wet smile to grace Jughead’s face as well. They made quick work of the door, and Jughead felt lucky that Sweet Pea only knocked off its hinges, not kicked through it all together. When they had finished, Jughead gave them both a hug and Toni headed down the stairs while Sweet Pea stayed behind a moment. 

“What should we do about him?” He asked, pointing his thumb in the direction of guy in the apartment. Jughead had no idea, and had no idea how to even go about the next steps of this situation.

“I don't know, I don’t know, dude,” Jughead said, raking through his hair. _When did I lose my beanie?_ he thought. He shrugged and looked to Sweet Pea for help. It wasn’t often that he needed it, but when it came to matters of violence, or matters of Betty, and now, matters of both, Sweet Pea was the only person Jughead could find himself confiding in. 

“Betty needs me right now,” was all Jughead could manage before turning on his heel and walking back to his bedroom. He knew Sweet Pea wouldn't take any offense to it, nor would he make fun of him for it later. He heard the door shut behind him as he walked into the bedroom. Toni was right, he did need to shower, and he would. But in that moment, what he needed was to just see that she was still there. That in all of this she hadn’t up and disappeared. 

She was right there, and looked so small tucked in the corner of his bed. Her hands were bandaged and gauzed and wrapped almost like a boxer’s. There were bandaids on her finger tips too, probably to make sure she couldn’t do any more harm.

Jughead tore his eyes away from her so he could take a mind-numbingly hot shower in under ten minutes. He would have been done in less, but the feeling of the burning water moving down and between his shoulder blades felt too good to rush through.

When it felt like the outer layer of his skin had been peeled off, he got out of the shower and toweled off. It was the first time he noticed his surroundings. 

He thought he was going to lose it again.

The whole sink was covered in blood, and Jughead could see the handprints of where Betty gripped the sink. There was a pair of scissors on top of what Jughead realized was his sweatshirt and the bra that Betty had been wearing earlier that day. Her leggings and panties were thrown in the corner, and Jughead could assume that they were also covered in blood.

Not wanting to further traumatize her, Jughead threw all of the clothing away. He knew she had other undergarments and leggings and he could find her a new favorite sweatshirt. Next he went into the kitchen and grabbed the bleach from under the sink and a rag.

_No bleach,_ he reminded himself. He put both back and grabbed a sponge, a bottle of dish soap, and a paper towel roll. He scrubbed the bathroom until there were no traces of blood and then he threw away everything. The bloody towel, the used materials, the bath mat. Everything. 

He put it all into a black garbage bag and stuck the bag outside his front door. He fired off a text to Sweet Pea and asked him if he could swing by his apartment on his way out and toss everything in the bin outside. Then he walked into his room, turned off his phone, and crawled in next to Betty.

She was on her side facing away from Jughead, so he wrapped himself around her in a way that made it impossible for her to move. He wasn't letting her out of his site. Ever. 

“Beanie Boy?” She started to cry. Jughead felt his heart break for her and he soothed his hands over her hair and whispered,

“It’s okay, baby girl. You’re safe. I’ve got you. No one can hurt you now.” Her crying started to ease and her breathing started to slow. He thought she was asleep but she whispered, “you don’t hate me?”

“Actually,” he said, pulling her so she would face him slightly, “actually, I love you, Betty Cooper.”

_Could you have picked a worse time to this her you love her? I mean seriously, Jughead. She just opened up to you about what could be the most traumatizing and fucked up thing a person could have ever experienced, and your response is to tell her you love her? Have you even asked her to be your girlfriend? No! You just smell her hair and kiss her. You call that a relationship, Jones? Wait, what did she say?_

“What did you say?” He asked quietly.

“I said,” she whispered in a shaky voice, “I said, Jughead Jones, I love you too.”

* * *

Somehow admitting to being an accessory to not one, but two, murders to one’s ‘person’ elicits a confession of love, and not screaming and running in the opposite direction. 

The only two things that were keeping Betty afloat were Jughead, and Cheryl’s Friendsgiving. She was actually excited to cook for everyone, but given the current state of her hands, she couldn’t actually do much by way of carrying hot and/or heavy objects or using a knife. 

So she became Boss Lady of the kitchen, and was entirely too pleased about it. 

It had been a week since Betty had told Jughead everything about her family. It had been a week since she took a shower with Toni and let her wash the blood from the creases of her new and old wounds in her palms. It had been a week since Jughead had stayed. 

A week since they had told each other how they really felt.

_I love you, Betty Cooper._

She knew he loved her, in a way that you just _know_ when someone loves you back, but it was entirely different hearing it for the first time. It wasn’t said in some grand way, it wasn’t said to get her to sleep with him. It wasn’t said with the intention of anything bad happening later. 

It was said in a moment where they both needed to hear it and say it and provide some form of comfort to a situation that was so far out of that familiar zone.

When she woke up the next morning, he was already awake and staring at her. And, judging by the dark circles under his eyes, he hadn’t fallen asleep at all. She tried to push herself up so she could get a better look at him, but winced as the weight on her hands was too much. Jughead got up to grab the first aid kit to clean and re-bandage her hands.

Back when it all began, Betty saw Jughead holding a gun to the head to a man who was once a friend of a boy who was once her brother. When Jughead then returned covered in cuts and bruises, Betty cried. She openly weeped while she iced his side and dressed his wounds.

But Betty was not prepared for Jughead to openly weep when he saw her palms. 

To Betty, they had looked worse, especially that summer when everything had happened. But Jughead blamed himself. It was the first time he outwardly admitted to her that she should run, that he should run, that they shouldn’t be near each other, that he was only going to cause her pain.

”Betty,” he choked out as he applied the ointment to her palm. “Betty baby please, just think about it. I brought this on you. I made this happen.

Betty had to keep herself from rolling her eyes at this statement. It was brought on by her psychopathic mother, and they could deal with her another day. The most absolute and pressing matter was that the bun that Toni had put her hair in the night before had fallen out, and she needed her hair off her neck.

It was how she learned that Jughead was surprisingly good at putting up someone’s hair, and made a mental note to talk to Toni about it. 

The next most pressing matter was what to do about Dorian. They had finally gotten out of bed, and Jughead decided he was making mac and cheese, because Betty had mentioned it was her second favorite cheesy food, right after pizza. He was feeding her bites of orange pasta when Betty proposed an idea.

“What if we give him two options?”

“And what would those be?” Jughead asked, scooping a bite into his mouth.

“Well, you said that the guy who runs this gang probably thinks he’s dead, right?” Jughead nodded, “so what if we give him the option to either: come clean to the police, rat out all of his other gang members involved in all of this and maybe get some kind of deal for it. _Or_ tell him he could go back to the Ghoulies where he would have to tell the leader that not only had he been kept here for weeks, but that the Serpents now know everything about their plans. And then _actually_ get killed.”

Betty watched as Jughead nodded his head slowly, like he was actually thinking about it. Like it was actually a good idea. 

“Okay,” Jughead said, “let’s say he chooses to go back to the Ghoulies and Malachi doesn’t kill him? Then we’ve just let this kid go and we have a huge target on our back.”

“Not if you get him to give you all of the information you need,” Betty said getting excited, a plan already forming in her head.

“Uh, newsflash, Betty Cooper, but they don’t care if we know.”

“Right,” Betty said, “but they care if the police know.”

“But we’ve tried to go to the police before and have never been able to get any help because there wasn’t any concrete evidence.”

“Right,” Betty said again, now one-hundred percent positive her plan was going to work. “And you can’t record him, right? Because it would be illegal and even though what they’re doing is illegal, and what _we’re_ doing is illegal, you don’t want to be caught on that technicality?”

“Yes, Betty! We’re running in circles and my mac and cheese is getting cold!” Jughead whined. 

“No you don’t get it! You’ve never had four really credible Northsiders in the room with you when you question him and get the information!”

Jughead said nothing, just continued to chew his food and ignore Betty and her, in his mind, stupid plan.

“Jughead!” She yelled, taking the fork from his hand. It hurt like hell, but she was going to get her point across. “Jughead, you guys have never had four credible Northsiders _including the Sheriff’s son,_ in the room with you!”

He stopped looking mad that she took his fork and ran around the counter to pick her up and kiss her. Spinning her in circles he said, “so regardless of what he chooses, he either goes to jail or is killed, but it isn’t on us!” He was laughing like a mad man, and Betty had to wondering how many nights he spent awake, completely freaked out about what he might have to do.

Betty asked that they keep everything “need to know,” which was really just letting Sweet Pea in on it, until _after_ Friendsgiving. Jughead quickly agreed, saying he wasn’t going to “let something as stupid as a police report,” ruin an entire day of eating. 

Which is how Betty ended up drinking margaritas in Cheryl’s kitchen with Fangs and Toni while Jughead and Sweet Pea peeled and chopped potatoes. Kevin and Joaquin were grating cheese to put in the macaroni, and Cheryl was… Betty didn’t know where her or Veronica were. Fangs got off duty from any of the major prep work because he didn’t get the memo that Betty couldn’t function anymore and made a huge salad. Everyone but Jughead and Sweet Pea were incredibly excited by it, which is how they ended up chopping and peeling every root vegetable in sight. 

Betty had been designated AUX ruler and was bouncing around between songs she could sing with Cheryl and Veronica, to songs she knew Jughead liked and Sweet Pea hated.

It turned out that Cheryl and Veronica were setting the long table, and it looked beautiful. Even though it was a cloudy day, Cheryl had opened every window in the room, allowing so much natural light in. There was a long tan table running going down the middle of the table, and big white votive candles scattered around. There were different greenery and vines scattered about, and Betty could cry at how beautiful it was.

The girls were clapping their hands together and she want over to hug them as tight as she could. 

“I’m grateful for you, cousin,” Betty whispered into Cheryl’s ear. Then she turned her hear to Veronica’s and said, “I’m grateful for you too, soul sister.” The three girls stood in the dining room hugging and crying and laughing when Sweet Pea walked in.

“Ladies, if I may interrupt your tears. Fear not. I am here now, and as Ron knows, there’s enough of me to go around.” 

He started to walk towards them and Betty whispered to Cheryl, “I can’t hit him yet.”

“No,” she whispered back, “but you’re the person he’s most scared of.”

_True._

“Okay, Peanut Butter. What do you need from us?” Betty asked, stepping directly up and under him. She knew it made him uncomfortable because his instinct was to go into attack mode, but he couldn’t, because it was Betty.

“You. Well your boyfriend needs you,” Sweet Pea said looking down from her. 

Betty sighed. Through all of this, they still hadn’t had _that_ conversation yet. The conversation of what they _were._ It wasn’t like they were going around introducing themselves to anyone. Everyone they knew were right in that room. 

So why was she so hell-bent on getting him to call her his girlfriend?

She pushed past Sweet Pea and walked into the kitchen calling over her shoulder, “he’s not my boyfriend.” 

Sweet Pea caught up to her and asked, “he’s not? Does that mean I can have him?”

They entered the kitchen and all eyes were on them. Joaquin asked, “can who have him?”

“Me,” Sweet Pea said, stealing a chip out of the bag Toni was holding. “Me, have Jughead.”

“Uh, no,” Jughead said, washing his hands and coming to stand by Betty. “You can’t have me. I’m Betty’s.”

“Not according to Betty you’re not,” Sweet Pea said with a smirk. She knew that he knew that she knew he was starting drama for no reason, but it still made her mad.

Which she guessed was the point. 

“Oh right!” Jughead said, as if he was just remembering something really important. He turned to face Betty and asked, “Betty Cooper, will you please help me make them all shut up forever, and be my girlfriend?”

“Is that the only reason you want me to be your girlfriend?” Betty asked.

“Well no. See, I can take my girlfriend out to eat _and_ I can eat my girl—”

“Okay!” Betty yelled. Her face was turning bright red and she couldn’t currently rely on her usual method of slapping his chest, so she moved to her next best option. Which was kissing him.

It was also her favorite option.

It turned out that Jughead needed her because he wanted to know if it was time to put the turkey in the oven. When she gave the green light to do so, Sweet Pea swept her from the room, promising to have her back in just a moment.

He led her out the front door and they sat on the steps while Sweet Pea smoked a cigarette. He was quiet, which worried her, but it turned out he just wanted to talk.

“Where’s your sister today? I thought she lived here.”

“Me to,” Betty said, taking a sip of her margarita. When she didn’t elaborate, Sweet Pea waved his cigarette in front of her face in a “well get on with the story then,” fashion. 

“Well I know Jughead told you about what… what happened to me. I don’t know if he fully added in how much my sister was involved. But, she was. Anyway, apparently someone she was with at the hospital joined a cult, and Polly took the twins with her and fled one night. 

“Do you remember when I came to school so hungover I wore sunglasses inside all day and hid in your sweatshirt?” Sweet Pea nodded. “Well. Ugh. We all have our ‘things’ right? Mine is doing what I did to my hands, Veronica’s is getting high and Cheryl’s is getting _very_ drunk. We got drunk on a Tuesday. On Monday, Polly left.” Betty toed the ground with her bare foot.

“Cher was honestly more upset about it than me or my mom.”

Sweet Pea took a moment to think about all of this. He was good, in a crisis. He didn’t freeze and took in all of the information before reacting. It’s why Betty loved him. He could cut through the noise for her when she needed.

“It’s probably why her and Quin get along so well. His family up and left with no question last spring. This is the first holiday season he won’t have had with them. And he tries to fix his problems by drinking,” he said with an exhale.

“So Toni is basically dating Joaquin then?” Betty asked with a laugh.

“Basically. They’re like you and me. Completely made for each other in every way but _that_ way.”

Betty had to try hard not to cry. “You think I’m made for you, Sweet Pea?”

He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “We’re a lot more alike than you would think, Coop. I’ve got a very similar fucked up family situation too. But more than that, we think alike. I don’t know, I’ve never loved a girl the way I love you. Like with Ron, I love her _that_ way, but don’t tell her. With Toni, I’ve known her since I was in diapers. She’s too much like a guy for me.” 

He took another big inhale and held it. Betty was familiar with “mushy” Sweet Pea. She knew it happened on special days or anniversaries. She didn’t ask what this one was, but she knew it was something.

“But you, Coop? I’d kill someone for you.”

“So I’m like your sister?” Betty asked in all sincerity.

Sweet Pea nodded. “Yeah. Exactly. But, more. And I don’t want to think about it too much because I consider Jughead my brother and I don’t need to think of you guys like that.”

Betty laughed and stood up. Sweet Pea grabbed her glass and the two of them went inside. No one was in the kitchen, so they wandered into the living room. Everyone was lounged on various couches watching The Empire Strikes Back. Jughead and Joaquin were in a heated debate about something and Cheryl, Veronica and Toni were making pie dough on the coffee table. 

Betty climbed into Jughead’s lap and tried to pay attention to the movie, but couldn’t. All of the people she loved were in the room with her, and she couldn’t think about anything else. She loved each and every one of them so deeply and so differently that it made her want to cry.

It also apparently made her want to sleep, because at some point Cheryl and Veronica were waking her up to get her dressed. There was a dress code, which was implemented by Joaquin, actually. They all had to dress up as fancy as they could, but they couldn’t wear shoes. Or socks. Toe polish optional.

Betty was in a very expensive looking sweater dress. Cheryl and Veronica were wearing matching ones in different colors. Toni was invited in, but said she didn’t want to intrude on their moment.

Betty knew she just didn’t want to stop wearing leather.

When they got to the table, the food had been all laid out. There was a huge turkey and stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, roasted root vegetables, green beans, mac and cheese, Fangs’s salad, and the biggest thing of gravy Betty had ever seen. 

There were also little name tags indicating where people were sitting. There was an odd number of them, with four on one side and five on the other. On Betty’s end of the table it went: Fangs, Cheryl, Betty, Sweet Pea and then Joaquin. Across from Joaquin and going down was: Kevin, Veronica, Jughead and Toni.

Jughead was not pleased.

“What why can’t I sit next to Betty?” He yelled, standing behind her chair.

“Because, Boss Man, I made it so none of the couples were sitting next to each other,” Cheryl said back with some sass. Jughead was not having it.

“Well jokes on you, Red. Betty is sitting next to Sweet Pea! And they’re basically in a relationship! She spends more time on his lap than mine!” He had his arms crossed like a teenage girl and the entire room burst into laughter. They all knew that if Sweet Pea even approached Betty like that, that Jughead would kill him.

“Lies. She’s my sister. Not my girlfriend. Ron is my girlfriend. Which is why she’s—”

“Oh shut up, Peanut Butter,” Jughead grumbled, but walked over to his chair on the opposite side of the table anyway. Cheryl walked around pouring everyone wine and laughing at Joaquin trying to make order of how things were served.

“When did you guys start calling me that? More importantly, why?”

When all of their plates were full, Jughead grabbed Betty’s from across the table and cut everything that may need to be cut into small pieces. Betty felt like a child, but knew it was necessary. No one thought anything of it, and if they did, they didn’t say anything. 

They talked and laughed like everything was normal, like they were at lunch at school or crammed nine-deep into a four seater at Pop’s. But they weren’t, they were in fancy clothes and no shoes and eating a meal that only people who really loved each other could make.

Right before dessert, Cheryl got up and put her phone on some selfie-stick/tripod at the end of the table. She got everyone’s attention and said, “we’re going to go around the table and say one thing we’re grateful for. Since I knew the majority of the people in this room would call Betty out as the one thing they’re grateful for, we are all going to start the video by saying we love her… yes Sweet Pea?” Cheryl directed her attention to Sweet Pea’s raised hand.

“Are there any other _guidelines?_ ” Sweet Pea asked, narrowly dodging a bread roll that was thrown at his face. 

“That’s up to you. But I am filming this, it’s going on record _forever._ ”

Everyone nodded and Sweet Pea put his arm around the back of Betty and Joaquin’s chairs an groaned loudly, complaining that Martha (the name he gave the turkey) got him pregnant and they were expecting.

Bread rolls connected that time.

Cheryl pressed “start” on the video and asked, “the first thing we’re all grateful for?” 

The whole room responded with a chorus of spoken and sung and yelled “Betty!”

Betty blushed and when the fanfare finally died down, she asked, “who goes first?”

“Oh I just came up with another thing!” Joaquin said quickly. “Everyone is allowed to say their ‘person’ as one of TWO things they are grateful for. Jughead, this means you get to say Betty twice.” Everyone nodded in agreement, and then Joaquin said, “I’ll start and we’ll go around so it ends at Sweet Pea.”

“I am obviously grateful for Kevin Keller. And I’m grateful for Cheryl, who, I thought I was going to bury somewhere on this property the first time I met you, Cher,” he said with a laugh. He got a “preach,” form someone and passed it off to Kevin.

“I am also grateful for Joaquin,” Kevin started, “and I am grateful that my dad is _finally_ going on a date so I can have some much needed space in my house from time to time,” he finished off, shooting a smirk in Joaquin’s direction.

It was Veronica’s turn next. She started with, “Pea, obviously. And that I have lived a life that has led me to you guys.” Everyone awed and Jughead squeezed her shoulder.

“Is it my turn now?” Jughead asked. Veronica nodded. “Okay but do I need to say Betty? Like she knows and one of my other things—”

“Goooo, Jug,” Kevin groaned from the corner. Jughead shook his head. “Okay, the first is Sweet Pea. He is the most loyal friend ever, _and_ if he hadn’t decided to assault my girlfriend in Pop’s, we wouldn’t all be here. My second thing is,” he looked and Betty, “wait!” And jumped up from the table. Betty could hear him running into the kitchen and when he returned and sat down he said, “my second thing is strawberry milkshakes,” and pulled one out from behind his back and placed it in front of her. 

She was both laughing and crying and buried her face in Sweet Pea’s shoulder. She mouthed “I love you,” to him and he blew her a kiss. It was Cheryl’s turn next.

“I am obviously grateful for my perfect TT, and for family that chose me.” Toni lifted herself out of her chair a bit so she could lean over the table and kiss Cheryl. Fangs was last before Betty.

“I am grateful for the way you all have been so accepting of me, and how nonjudgmental everyone is. It makes loving you guys easy.”

Then it was Betty’s turn. “I’m grateful for Beanie Boy and cinnamon rolls.”

Finally, it was Sweet Pea’s turn. “I am grateful that Veronica Lodge is so protective of Betty, and that she decided to _try_ and slap the shit out of me over a miscommunication. It will definitely happen again, and she will definitely succeed. And I’m sorry Red, but I’m breaking your rule. Because I am so grateful for Coop. Literally none of us would be here without her. So, sister, I am grateful for you too.”

They all had tears streaming down their faces now and were a mixture of laughing and crying and talking and Jughead, as happy as he was, Betty could tell he was confused by Sweet Pea calling her his sister.

The girls brought out the pies they made and Sweet Pea made a comment about liking his ladies in the kitchen and Joaquin did what they had all been itching to do and hit him upside the head.

After not one, not two, but every single person in the room had to convince Betty that she couldn’t do the dishes and that Cheryl had hired help, they laid back down on the couches, sort of paying attention and sort of not. 

Betty realized in that moment that while they were all grateful for her, she wouldn’t be alive if not for them, just a hollowed out shell in the after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really help you enjoyed and it put a smile on your face. Some heavy stuff to start, but your weekly dose of OvertureAU SweetBee to tie it all together.
> 
> And CherQuin!!!! A friendship I didn't know I needed to explore until my computer crashed, so we can thank my old computer for that.
> 
> Anyway! Come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee
> 
> xx  
> bb


	13. So Stay Up Till Sunrise // Wipe The Tears From Your Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Betty lay there listening to her family talk about the thing they were doing for break when Veronica uttered those cursed words.
> 
> "I have made a decision!"
> 
> "Oh my fucking god," Toni grumbled from where she was sitting at Cheryl's feet.
> 
> "I'm going to die again," Fangs said from the kitchen.
> 
> "Red, stop her," Jughead said. 
> 
> "I literally cannot. If there's one thing that I don't do is try to stop V from making a decision."
> 
> "What's that, Park Ave?" Betty called from the couch. 
> 
> "I'm ignoring that," Veronica said. "But since we're all freaks and geeks-"
> 
> "I'm not a geek," Cheryl said.
> 
> "No, but honey, you're a freak," Toni said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi my loves!!
> 
> Thank you for your kind words from last chapter and your kinder words on tumblr + dms!! I am loving all of your support & feedback!
> 
> Once again, shamelessly asking you to check out the other story I'm working on, which I now am updating Saturdays.
> 
> Anyway, here's lucky number 13.
> 
> Disclaimer-- I don't own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta'd so any and all mistakes are mine!

_Egyptian Luvr- Rejjie Snow (feat. Dana Williams, Aminé)_

“So it’s been decided,” Veronica said as she slid in next to Joaquin in their booth at Pop’s. She leaned across him in to plant a kiss on Sweet Pea’s lips and then leaned across him to kiss Betty on the cheek.

Once again, Jughead found himself feeding French fries to his girlfriend who was sitting on his best friend’s lap. Sweet Pea and Betty had taken to the whole “siblings” thing a whole lot more intensely than Jughead had ever imagined happening.

He personally considered Sweet Pea his brother, so the whole thing just made him feel messy if he allowed himself to think about it.

“What have you decided, babe?” Cheryl asked from her seat next to Jughead. She stole one of his fries and in that moment Jughead realized how much he must really love Cheryl. 

“Wow you must really love me,” Cheryl voiced.

“I love Betty,” Jughead said, matter-of-factly, but slid his fries closer to her anyway.

“You were saying?” Fangs asked from his seat next Toni.

“Oh right!” Veronica said, clapping her hands excitedly. Each person at the table exchanged a worried glance with one another. The last time Veronica clapped her hands and said “oh right!” Sweet Pea’s ran running through the woods, naked as the day he was born, in the middle of November and Fangs ended up puking in Joaquin’s car after not wanting to answer a truth via truth or dare.

So yes, they were all worried.

“Baby you know the last time you said that, a quarter of our group almost died,” Sweet Pea said, reaching around the seat to brush his fingers on the side of Veronica’s head.

“Please. The only reason _you_ almost died that night was because suffocation,” she said sweetly while batting her eyelashes at him. Sweet Pea’s face broke out into one of the most guilty and boyish smiles Jughead ever seen. 

He shrugged and said, “alright fine. What executive decision have you made for the other eight people you spend your time with?”

“I’m glad you asked, Peanut Butter.”

“I’m so sorry, but I _literally_ have to stop you right there, princess,” Sweet Pea said, somehow managing to wrap his arm even farther around Joaquin and Veronica so he could clamp his hand over her mouth. “Why do you three keep calling me Peanut Butter?”

Betty choked on the sip of milkshake she had been sipping in that moment and Jughead started to panic because he couldn’t get to her.

“Okay, I’m going to stop everyone here!” Jughead yelled. “Betty Cooper. Stand up and step on the booth behind you and off of Pea’s lap. Then get your fine ass over here and plant it on me because _I, your boyfriend,_ haven’t seen you all day and I’m in charge!”

The whole table froze and Joaquin put both of his hands on his face and Cheryl grabbed Jughead’s hand, shaking her head at him.

“What?!” He yelled again. “She basically choked and Sweet Pea is too preoccupied with Park Ave over there to help her out!”

They were all still silent and Jughead threw his hands up and said, “I’m waiting, Boss Lady. Let’s do this.”

“Why don’t you just throw her over the table?” Toni asked sarcastically. Everyone at the table looked at her with incredulous looks and Toni clamped her hand over her mouth in realization of what she had just done. 

“Sweet Pea...” she said slowly, “I did not mean that and _do not_ throw Betty.”

“I wasn’t going to _throw_ her. I was just going to _pass_ her to Jughead.”

“ _She_ is right here and _absolutely_ objects,” Betty said wide eyed. She sent a pleading look in everyone’s direction, but no one would meet her eyes.

It was how the game of just passing Betty over large inanimate objects began.

The next day when they were pulling up to their last day of school before break, Jughead cradled Betty in his arms and then handed her off to Sweet Pea over the hood of his Jeep.

Bonus points if she didn’t touch the object.

Jughead and Sweet Pea spent a lot of time that break on the receiving end of really aggressive slaps.

They continued anyway.

But because the first round of “Betty Bunt” (so eloquently named by Joaquin) went so well, it was hard for anyone, including Betty to stay too mad at them for very long.

After Betty had landed safely in Jughead’s lap, Cheryl explained the origin of “Peanut Butter,” to their group.

It obviously had to do with margaritas.

“Has everyone watched _How I Met Your Mother?_ Yes? Great,” she started. “There’s a joke somewhere in season four where Barney asks Lily, “what’s the difference between peanut butter and jam?” and then whispers the answer because it’s so dirty, right?” They all nodded and Sweet Pea looked both scared and excited about where the explanation was headed.

“So drunk, obviously, Veronica looks up the punchline to the joke, which is; I can’t peanut butter my dick up your ass.”

The whole table sat their open mouthed and Cheryl took some of Jughead’s fries and put it each person’s mouth and gently closed them. 

“I don’t get it,” Sweet Pea said. Joaquin finished chewing his fry and whispered in Sweet Pea’s ear.

“VERONICA LODGE!” was all he could manage. 

Veronica proudly looked at him and asked, “yes Peanut Butter?”

“I know that this little bullshit nickname won’t end, but Coop can’t call me that.”

“Agreed,” Jughead said, taking the milkshake from Betty’s hand and sticking the straw in his mouth.

“Now that we’ve established that...” Veronica said, “I’m going to tell you my executive decision. We are doing Secret Santa.”

In retrospect, Veronica should have taken more offense to all of them poised to shoot down her idea before even hearing what it was, but she just sat there smugly.

It was how Jughead ended up with their Park Ave princess as the recipient of his gift and the ever present feeling of ripping out his hair.

Veronica made them choose their names at school the following day (the day of the second Betty Bunt challenge) because Kevin and Fangs would be present. He tried to jokingly look at Sweet Pea’s, but the idiot just stuffed the piece of paper in his mouth and swallowed it. 

Betty was on edge because they were entering her worst nightmare after school. Jughead, Toni, Cheryl, Veronica and Sweet Pea we’re going with her to her house to get her stuff so she could bounce between his place and Cheryl’s throughout break, and then hopefully, the foreseeable future.

The Serpents were dressed extra intimidating that day. Sweet Pea even made it a point to keep his brass knuckles on during the day. 

He was not in a good mood either. It had become very clear to all of them that Sweet Pea loved Betty more than any other blood relative he’d ever had, and so the idea of having to approach her abusive mother put him on edge.

Which put Betty on edge.

Which put Jughead on edge.

Which led to the six that were headed to Betty’s to do a round of tequila shots in the car before heading over.

They all had very specific roles in this mission, which Sweet Pea had named, “Operation: The Elizabeth Escape.”  
Jughead went as emotional support. Sweet Pea went as muscle. And Cheryl and Toni went to pack up a bunch of Betty’s clothes.

Veronica went for blackmail. 

She was going to record the whole thing and silently provoke Alice into saying something incriminating that she could later use against her. It was a very risky plan that could end up paying off if done correctly.

The six of them squeezed into Jughead’s Jeep, Sweet Pea asked if they could go in with a dramatic flair.

“Look, all I’m saying is if the girls, minus Toni, go in first and try to get the information out of Alice, it’s gives us the opportunity to then come in if things start to get out of control. If we all go barreling in to start, she may just shut down,” Sweet Pea said. He was curling pieces of Veronica’s hair around his finger and leaning forward in an attempt to get Betty’s attention.

“I don’t care how it happens,” Jughead said, speeding up, “it’s up to Betty.”

Betty sat there silently for a few moments before saying, “we can do it Pea’s way.”

So a plan formed between the six of them as they pulled into Elm street and into Betty’s driveway. 

“I just want access to that truck at some point,” Betty grumbled as she slammed the door shut behind her. Jughead jogged around the front of the car and wrapped his arms around her. 

He kissed her softly and whispered against her lips, “I’ll be right here the whole time.”

“Me too, sister!” Sweet Pea yelled from across the hood.

“ _Please. I beg you._ Please stop calling her ‘sister’ when I’m kissing her. Please.”

Veronica and Cheryl giggled while Toni rolled her eyes. The girls were dressed as intimidatingly as they possibly could. Veronica had on what looked like a dress that cost more than everything in Jughead’s apartment— including the apartment. 

And Cheryl wasn’t wearing any pants.

Jughead kissed Betty one last time before the three of them walked into the house. The knots in his stomach were tied so tight that he thought that might punch through his stomach and fall onto the floor.

Sweet Pea was twirling his brass knuckles and Toni was furiously typing on her phone, hopefully keeping in touch with Cheryl. 

Jughead’s greatest fear was something bad happening to Betty and him freezing and not being able to help her on time. He was so in his head about freezing that he let his guard down just enough to be caught off guard when Andrews pulled into the driveway next to them.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me," Sweet Pea muttered. He slipped the knuckles on and walked over to Archie, who was standing stark still in his driveway.

“Stop, Pea,” Jughead said. “He lives there.” 

Sweet Pea spun so fast on his heel that he actually teetered to the side. He righted himself and walked back over to Jughead, not even glancing in Archie’s direction and pulled out a cigarette. 

He handed one to Jughead, and right as Jughead was going to take the lighter from him, they heard a scream come from Betty house. It wasn’t Betty’s scream, and it upset Jughead slightly that he was able to differentiate, but it still made him drop the unlit cigarette on the ground and sprint towards the door.

When they got there, Sweet Pea kicked open the door and Jughead made a mental note to yell at everyone for locking it.

Cheryl was standing closest to it and grabbed Jughead by the hand and brought him into the house. He walked into the kitchen to find all 5’2” of Veronica keeping Alice in a choke hold. 

In that moment, Jughead realized it was the first time he had ever seen Alice. The physical resemblance to Betty was striking, but their eyes... their eyes were different. Alice has blue-grey eyes that were hard and calloused and full of hate as she looked at Jughead.

Ignoring her momentarily, Jughead scanned the room for Betty. He immediately started to panic when she wasn’t at his eye level, and looked towards Veronica, who nodded towards the floor by Alice’s feet.

There laying in a crumpled ball was Betty. He moved quickly towards them just as Alice pulled her foot back to kick in Betty’s direction, Sweet Pea stepped in and for able removed her from Veronica’s arms and Betty.

Unable to pay any attention to his best friend he crouched down and touched Betty’s back. “Hey, my love. It’s me. We’re going to get you out of here now.” She nodded her head and Jughead let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t unconscious or bleeding, two things that Jughead had unfortunately because all too accustomed to seeing in times of mental and emotional distress.

They were standing now. Jughead had one arm around her waist and walked towards the door. 

“Boss Lady,” Veronica called. She was never a fan of the whole thing, but it seemed like she was trying to make a point to Alice, trying to drive her mad.

Betty’s head snapped up in her direction. “Yes?”

The look on Alice’s face was pure hatred and disgust when Betty's head snapped up and she answered. Jughead realized that Sweet Pea had Alice in a similar hold that he did Veronica that day in Pop's, except Alice's hands were pinned behind her back and his arm was around her throat.

"Let's just go, she's not worth it. We have what we need," Betty said tiredly. Jughead felt sick to his stomach. In all of the planning of what would happen when they got there, no one, including him, thought about how Betty would feel.

Cheryl and Toni had walked down the stairs with two large duffle bags full of Betty's clothes and belongings. Cheryl walked right up to Alice and Sweet Pea and stood there, eyeing Alice up before slapping her so had across the cheek that the skin split.

"We're leaving now, Alice," Betty said from Jughead's side. They walked out of the door first, with Toni and Cheryl following them and Sweet Pea and Veronica bringing up the rear. 

"You might want to get that door fixed before it gets dark, Alice," Sweet Pea said. "You never know what type of creatures like to come out when its dark."

_The fucking door!_

Jughead tossed the keys to Sweet Pea and got in the back of the car, sliding in behind Veronica who was now in the passenger seat, and placing Betty on his lap. Cheryl sat next to him and Toni sat right behind Sweet Pea. 

Sweet Pea started the car and they peeled out of the driveway and down Elm St., getting as far away from the nightmare that was Alice as fast as possible. It was getting darker, and Jughead could feel his body starting to slowly relax now that he had Betty with him again.

"Okay," he breathed. "Which of you girls LOCKED THE FUCKING DOOR? That was our _only_ major rule," Jughead screamed. No one said anything, and the silence was deafening, because all too late he realized who the last person to walk into the house was. Who had made a habit over the last however many years to lock it behind her when she walked in.

"Pull over," she whispered. When Sweet Pea didn't hear her she screamed, "Boss Lady! Pull over!"

He did immediately and Betty flung open the door and started violently throwing up. Jughead wanted to get out, seeing he was closest to her, but Sweet Pea put the car in park and ran over. Jughead shut the door, realizing he too wouldn't want her to see him throwing up on the side of the road.

Cheryl produced a bottle of water out of thin air and Veronica pulled a pack of gum out of her bag. _Girls,_ Jughead thought, but was great fun for their preparedness. Veronica rolled her window down and passed them off to Pea who had walked up to the side of the car. 

Through the window he nodded at Jughead and then walked back over to Betty, who was still standing with her hands on her knees. Jughead watched as Sweet Pea rubbed her back and handed her the water, and for the first time since it all started, Jughead incredibly grateful that Sweet Pea loved Betty like a sister.

After about fifteen minutes, they got back in the car. It was officially dark then, and Sweet Pea flicked on the lights as Betty curled up in Jughead's lap. Almost as soon as his arms were around her, she fell asleep. Jughead spent the rest of the quiet car ride kissing her hair and her forehead and wondered if he was going to ask one of the girls to come up to the apartment and shower her again.  
Jughead was getting really tired of people hurting Betty Cooper. And in that moment, he vowed to never be one of them.

They arrived at the Wyrm and everyone got out. Jughead assumed they were all going to come in and he did the math of how many people were going to be sleeping in his apartment that night.

Up to nine.

He carried Betty inside, and as Sweet Pea still had the keys in his hand, he was able to open the apartment door and let them in. Jughead walked in first and headed to the back where his room was. He turned around to find Veronica and Cheryl with him.

"Here," Veronica said, handing him two hundreds in cash. "We know you won't leave her, and we also know that three other people will probably make their way in this direction. So this is for Pop's. Sweet Pea won't take it from me, but he'll take it from you."

"And what makes you think I'll take it from you either?"

"I'm calling Boss Lady by-proxy. Pea would be in charge if you were indisposed. So I get to be in charge when it's Betty," Veronica said like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"And we want to take off her clothes and put her in comfortable ones and I know that you love her too much to see her naked when she's out of it. You called Toni over when she was covered in blood, remember?" Cheryl asked. Where Cheryl's tone used to be cold and full of malice at the notion of Toni and Jughead's friendship, now she just, loved them both.

"Yeah," he said, taking off his beanie and running his fingers through his hair. "Okay. Yeah. The sweatshirts she likes to sleep in are in the bottom drawer." He walked out of the room and into the living room. Almost immediately, Veronica came back out and pushed past him into the kitchen.

Jughead followed her slowly and found her piling ice into a plastic bag.

"Her eye," she whispered, knowing Jughead was there and was going to ask. "I'll deal with Pea and the money. Come back in and just get in bed with her, it's what she'd want anyway right now. And I'll deal with everyone when they arrive."

Completely numb, Jughead nodded his head and followed her. In his room, Betty was tucked under the blankets and had one eye open. The eye that was closed however, was swollen shut, not shut on her own will. 

_Oh god._

Jughead took the ice from Veronica and she and Cheryl walked out of the room, both kissing him on the cheek and turning out the over head light.

"Hi," she creaked. He took off his jeans and socks so he was left in just a t-shirt and boxers. He climbed in next to her and opened up his arms. She wrapped herself around him and Jughead felt himself start to tear up and at the sound of her sobbing into his side.

"Baby we got you out of there," he soothed through tears of his own. Somehow seeing the whole thing felt worse than hearing about it, which Jughead didn't think was possible. He gently put the ice on her eye and said, "we tried so hard, and we made it happen. I'm sorry we didn't think it through to the end." They were both crying and he could feel her hand drift up to his face and stroke his cheek. 

She looked up at him, and Jughead thought he was going to start to cry again. Her eye was oozing and blackish-purple and swollen shut completely. He kept the cold compress on her skin for a few more moments before she winced at the temperature.

"I just want to go to sleep now Juggie," she whispered. He felt his heart squeeze at the nickname. She had never called him anything other than his name or Beanie Boy. He whispered "of course" against her hair and turned out the light, letting his body still against hers until she was snoring. 

He closed his eyes himself, noticing how tired he actually was, and let himself fall asleep to the sounds of the rest of his family quietly talking and watching something in the living room.

* * *

Unlike the first time it happened, Betty knew where she was and why she was so fucking hot when she woke up. She also knew how to quickly and easily get out of bed without disturbing the overly heated Jughead Jones. 

She slipped out of bed, completely oblivious to the seven people spread out in various positions in Jughead's tiny living room, and walked straight to the bathroom. Betty walked straight to use the toilet, not even bothering to take a look at herself in the mirror before doing so.

When she stood up to wash her hands, she was met with her reflection. 

Staring back at her was a girl whose entire left side of her face was covered in bruises, and whose eye was swollen all the way shut.

_I guess that's why I was so off balance this morning._

However, the one moment of clarity did not stop Betty from letting out an ear splitting shriek at her reflection. She heard a pair of footsteps running in her direction, but was completely shocked to find Joaquin in an oversized t-shirt and boxers with a panicked expression standing outside the bathroom door.

"Betty? Are you okay? What's wrong?" He asked concerned. Betty stood there, completely shocked as a different pair of foot stepss quickly approached.

"I head yelling," Cheryl said. She was wearing red silk pajamas and Betty found the contrast between the two friends utterly hilarious. "Your hair looks awful," Cheryl said to Joaquin as she turned on her heel and walked back to the living room. 

"What happened? Betty is everything okay?" Fangs asked walking over to them.

"How-" she started, "how many of you guys are here?"

"All of us," Joaquin said. At that moment, everyone else, including Kevin, walked over to the bathroom. Where Betty was standing, one eye open incredibly wide and the other swollen shut, wearing only Jughead's sweatshirt and a pair of underwear.

"Awesome."

"Okay, let me through," Sweet Pea said. He had a bag of ice in his hand and a cup of water in the other. He pushed his way into the bathroom and shut the door. Betty took a deep breath in and exhaled. He walked over and handed her the glass of water and three Advil that she didn't know he was holding. 

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush. She went through the motions of brushing her teeth as her mind recalled everything that happened the night before. 

Taking a shot of tequila in the car before facing Alice. 

Going in and yelling at Alice until her throat hurt and there was no voice left. 

Alice hitting her in the face with a book and the corner of it knocking her eye.

Jughead and Sweet Pea and Toni rescuing her.

Jughead yelling about the door.

Throwing up on the side of the road and Sweet Pea taking care of her.

She finished brushing her teeth and hoisted herself up on the bathroom counter. Sweet Pea leaned against it and handed her the ice. 

"Yeah I mean, I remember up until throwing up. Thank you, by the way, for staying with me," she said. She couldn't see Sweet Pea from where he was sitting because of her eye, so she had to turn all the way in his direction. Then she asked, "why is everyone here?"

"Coop, every person in that room loves you so much they don't know what to do with it. Four of us were also already here and Cheryl told Joaquin, so he brought Kevin and Fangs too."

"It's so weird to me that Kevin is always here. I don't know why, but he didn't seem like the type to fall in love with a bunch of gang members," Betty said.

"Yeah well, you did."

"Fair," she said, nudging his side with her foot. "But my dad isn't the Sheriff. Like my mom whole ass killed someone. It's a wonder any of you are friends with me."

"Well you're my sister," Sweet Pea started, "and while my mom didn't kill anyone, I don't know where she is. She up and left right after my dad went to jail. I moved in with Joaquin actually. Then my dad was killed by a Ghoulie while he was on the inside. So I understand the pain of wanting revenge on someone in their gang."

"I'm sorry," Betty said and grabbed his hand.

"Me too," Sweet Pea replied.

"Okay, can we talk about something?"

"Literally anything," Sweet Pea said, "what's up?"

"Do you know who Fangs has feelings for? Because that night he was so against answering that I'm assuming it's one of us, but we're all... you know..."

"With people?" He mocked.

"Shut up."

"I don't think he does. I don't think he's liked anyone, ever. I've never seen him with anyone and I've never known him to like anyone. It will happen for him when it happens."

Betty was about to reply when Jughead flung the door open. He was still only standing in his boxers and t-shirt and his hair was sticking in every direction and he had a look of sleepy paranoia on his face.

"You know there was a time where I would be wildly jealous and insecure about the two of you being in a bathroom together with the door shut," Jughead said. He walked right past Pea and over to Betty. He placed a quick kiss on her lips and then said, "so I have to pee. And unless you want to see that, you either need to turn around and cover your ears, or walk out of the room."

"That's our cue, Coop," Sweet Pea said, opening the door for her. Betty walked into Jughead's room and found a pair of cozy sweatpants laid out for her. She sat on the edge of the bed and pulled them on. She stood up slowly, grabbed her bag of ice and walked into the living room. She used the wall to help guide her seeing as her balance was completely off.

Jughead had left the bathroom while she was changing and was sitting on the couch next to Joaquin and Cheryl. Betty walked over and plopped herself down on his lap and extended her body in either direction so her head was on the arm rest and her legs were draped on Cheryl and Joaquin.

"Good morning, beautiful," Jughead said and placed a kiss to her forehead. "Kevin and Fangs are cooking pancakes and bacon and eggs. Apparently last night after we fell asleep they went grocery shopping once they saw my fridge."

"Ah yes," Betty sighed, "grocery shopping. Something I'm going to have to do now that I'll be here everyday and can't have a milkshake for breakfast _every_ single morning."

"Ah but that means some mornings?"

"Yes of course. It's called balance, boyfriend," she said.

He broke out into a huge grin. "Say it again."

"Balance?"

"Elizabeth..."

"Ohhhh," Betty exaggerated, "you wanted me to say, 'Jughead Jones is my boyfriend.'"

"And don't you fucking forget it," he whispered into her ear. 

Betty lay there listening to her family talk about the thing they were doing for break when Veronica uttered those cursed words.

"I have made a decision!"

"Oh my fucking god," Toni grumbled from where she was sitting at Cheryl's feet.

"I'm going to die again," Fangs said from the kitchen.

"Red, stop her," Jughead said. 

"I literally cannot. If there's one thing that I don't do is try to stop V from making a decision."

"What's that, Park Ave?" Betty called from the couch. 

"I'm ignoring that," Veronica said. "But since we're all freaks and geeks-"

"I'm not a geek," Cheryl said.

"No, but honey, you're a freak," Toni said. 

" _Anyway,_ since we're all probably going to end up spending Christmas together anyway, why don't we go up to my parent's cabin. We can go the day after tomorrow and stay through New Years. It's not like we wouldn't be spending it here to begin with, might as well spend it there."

"Guys," Fangs stage whispered from the kitchen, "I don't hate this plan. But I still might die."

They all laughed, but also all agreed to go. It was in that moment that Fangs and Kevin brought out a plate of food to Betty, but told everyone else to go inside and get their own. 

When everyone had been fed and compliments to the chef's had been doled out, the nine of them decided that they were going to start watching the Harry Potter films from the beginning.

"There's nine of them, and nine of us," Sweet Pea said while putting the first movie in.

"Babe," Betty said, trying to keep her tone calm and even.

"What babe?" He asked, continuing to fuss with the DVD player.

"There's eight movies."

"No babe," he said but sounded unsure of himself.

"Yes babe."

"Whatever. It says there's like nineteen hours of movie happening if we watch all NINE."

So even though there was eight movies, they spent the next nineteen hours watching them. 

"You know this has been my fantasy for the past four months," Jughead whispered in her ear. She was laying as she was before and had no intention of ever going anywhere ever again in her life.

"Oh? Locked in your tiny apartment with your girlfriend and best friends watching Harry Potter?"

"No. Well, yes. But no. I've always said that I would sleep better at night if I could just lock you in my apartment and not let you out of my sight. At the time it didn't involve Sweet Pea drooling on one of my pillows, but this will do for now."

"For now?" She asked.

"Yeah, for now."

Around the middle of the forth movie, Betty fell asleep and didn't wake up until the end of the the first part of the seventh movie. It was around 1:00am, and the only other person awake was Cheryl.

"Hi Cher," Betty whispered. Her back ached from laying on another human being for the last however many hours.

"Hi Betty Boop," she replied. She stood up and switched over the DVD so they could start the last movie. "You slept through a riveting game of Betty Bunt. Jughead had to use and bathroom and eat so he passed you to Sweet Pea who, instead of bringing you to Jughead's room like everyone suggested he do, just held you while Jughead inhaled three burgers. But then an hour later Jughead had to use the bathroom again and so it went."

"And you and Joaquin?" Betty asked.

"Sweet Pea or Fangs would hold your legs. Jughead was very cute and protective about wanting you to sleep, but also didn't want to take you to the room in case you woke up."

It was the thought that made Betty's heart swell. He wanted her to be loved and included, even if she was dead to the world.

"There's no way anyone is comfortable," Betty said. "I am going to take Jughead to our room and then you can lay down."

"Honestly, we're all pretty good here. But I will definitely lay down and share the couch with Quin. It's what we did last night."

"You shared the couch with Joaquin last night? Not Toni? Not Kevin? How did that even work?"

"I don't know. Quin was just freaked out and Jughead has a weird amount of air mattresses so I stayed up talking to him and then we fell asleep head to feet."

"Do you love him the way Sweet Pea loves me?" Betty asked, beginning to shift her weight so she could stand up.

"No one loves anyone the way Sweet Pea loves you. But I do love Quin, yeah. He doesn't feel like a brother to me, because I already had that intense sibling sibling thing with Jason. But I love him in a similar way that I love you and V. But it's different."

"You don't have to explain, Cher. I completely understand." Betty sat up enough that she could wrap her arms around Cheryl and kiss her cheek. Cheryl hugged her back as hard as she could before letting her go. 

Betty swung her legs off of her and Joaquin and stood. She shook Jughead's shoulder until he blearily opened his eyes and took her outstretched hand. She realized that between the two of them they probably only had two working eyes, but it didn't matter because they made it into bed safely and were both wrapped around each other and snoring in under five minutes

"How is it possible for any human to need this much stuff?" Sweet Pea complained as he loaded Veronica's bags into the back of Jughead's Jeep. The trip to "Lodge Lodge" was underway that morning and Sweet Pea got put in charge of loading things into a vehicle while Jughead took care of some stuff at the bar.

"Look dude, you don’t have to carry it. But if you don’t you get a room to yourself. It’s that easy,” Veronica said without looking up from her phone. She was sitting in the backseat behind Jughead whole Sweet Pea was going to be behind Betty. 

Their original plan of leaving on the twenty-third fell through when both Kevin and Veronica had family obligations for Christmas Day that they couldn’t miss. Instead, the rest of them holed back up in Jughead’s apartment eating Chinese food and watching a list of Christmas episodes that Toni found online.

Later that night Veronica came over with a bottle of rum and a bottle of eggnog and they all drank themselves to sleep.

On the twenty-sixth they were all too hungover to do anything or go anywhere, and Betty was incredibly happy that Jughead had blackout curtains and that no one got sick.

From the twenty-seventh through the twenty-eighth, Jughead kicked everyone out and the two of them spent forty-eight uninterrupted hours together. They spent the days cooking and talking and kissing and moving into different territories of kissing that Betty wasn’t sure she was ready for.

She wanted it, she just didn’t know how much of it. 

She was absolutely and completely in love with Jughead Jones. There wasn’t a single thing this man did that didn’t make her want to jump his bones. 

They were little things, like making her cups of tea but then also bringing her a glass of ice water in case it was too hot. Or buying brand new bottles of her favorite body wash and putting them in the shower next to his. Or always having an extra sweatshirt somewhere in reach so when she inevitably complained of being cold, he would take off the one he was wearing and give it to her, ensuring that the one she was wearing was warmer.

He went back bought laundry detergent that Betty mentioned she liked when they were at the grocery store once. He cleared out his top three drawers and half of his closet because he knew how she liked to organize her clothes.

He made her breakfast every morning and went so far as learning how to make cinnamon rolls from scratch from a video he found on YouTube that failed the first five times but were perfect the sixth.

So yeah, Betty loved him, and she wanted to jump his bones and have her way with him.

But maybe not yet. 

On the twenty-ninth, Veronica claimed she missed them too much and she and Sweet Pea came over. It was the first time the four of them had hung out without everyone else, and Betty had to admit it was nice.

It was then that Veronica told them that they were all leaving for the cabin the following afternoon. Betty and Jughead exchanged looks, realizing that while their friends had definitely wanted to see them, they also knew the best way to get Jughead to do anything was to approach him slowly.

So at 12:00pm on the thirtieth the four of them got in Jughead’s Jeep and headed to the cabin. They had to stop at the grocery store and get to the house before everyone so they could unpack and start cooking. They were planning on staying until the evening of the third, which would give them all a chance to figure out what was happening with where Betty was living.

More money than Betty would want to admit later, they pulled out of the grocery store parking lot and made the short drive to Veronica’s. Sweet Pea continued to complain about carrying things in but did it anyway. Betty and Jughead unpacked the groceries while Sweet Pea and Veronica brought up their bags and then went to “unpack” themselves.

Betty made a huge pot of pasta and meatballs and red sauce and when everyone else arrived in Joaquin’s car there were quick hugs and kisses hello, explanations of where room were and bowls of pasta dolled out. 

They decided to binge the Twilight movies next because Sweet Pea had never seen them and Betty quietly admitted they were guilty pleasure movies.

Betty and Jughead weren’t put on dish duty so they went up stairs and went to sleep, trying to avoid the fact that all of their friends were probably going to be having sex right at that time. 

Fangs had the same idea the following morning.

“So V basically created a brothel last night,” Fangs asked with a look of slight disgust on his face.

“Basically, I mean... we were all having sex around the same time so...” Toni said

“We weren’t having sex,” Jughead said, coming to stand behind Betty and resting his head on her shoulder.

“What?”

“Why?” Cheryl asked, genuinely confused. Apparently everyone assumed that they were _all_ having sex last night. 

“Yeah no,” Betty said, interlacing her fingers with Jughead’s. “I didn’t want to be doing that at the same time that I knew for a fact Pea was too.”

Sweet Pea’s face contorted into a look of pure disgust as he shook his head and pulled a cigarette out of his pocket.

“Thanks for not fucking my sister while I fucked her sister,” he said clapping Jughead’s hand and pulling him into a bro hug.

“You have got to stop calling her your sister. Or you have to stop calling me your brother. But you don’t get to have both.”

“Easy, Betty’s my sister. You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had or will ever have.”

Jughead squinted at him and tried to figure out if he was joking out not. Sweet Pea’s genuine look made Jughead nod and say, “I’ll allow it.”

Though it was New Year’s Eve, the day was spent with the nine of them watching the rest of the movies from the night before and Betty cooking a huge amount of food. 

Around 9:00pm, Cheryl surprised them all and said, “do we have to dress up? I know I said it was mandatory but I’m honestly so comfortable right now that the idea of getting up to put on make up and sequins sounds awful.”

“Where you were you going to be putting sequins?” Joaquin asked.

“My dress, dummy. I wasn’t planning on gluing them on.”

“I honestly wouldn’t put it past you... that’s why I asked.”

“All in favor of not getting dressed and doing Secret Santa tomorrow morning instead of tonight say ‘aye,’” Cheryl said.

They all just groaned from their respective couches and continued eating the ice cream that Veronica had grabbed and watching bad vampire movies.

“I love you,” Jughead said out of nowhere and kissed her. “Like, so damn much. It’s all I think about. You’re all I think about.”

“Oh, Jug,” she whispered, “I love you so much, it hurts. But in a fantastic way. In a terrifying way. But in a fantastic way.”

He continued to kiss her every few minutes and Betty had to remember where she was and to not give into Veronica’s idea of a couples weekend.

At 11:55 Veronica brought out five bottles of champagne. She handed one to each Serpent and they stood around talking while she flicked on footage of the ball-drop in New York City.

“See!” Cheryl pointed. “They’re probably cold and unhappy in their dresses!”

“Cher, babe. No one is mad at you for wanting stay comfortable. Please breathe,” Toni said. She rolled her eyes in Betty’s direction as Cheryl tugged on the drawstrings of her hoodie.

“Okay it’s starting!”

“10, 9, 8...”

“I love you, Beanie Boy.”

“6, 5, 4...”

“Until next year, Betty Cooper.”

“3, 2, 1...”

“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” They all screamed before kissing their boyfriend/girlfriend. Cheryl jumped over and grabbed Fangs’s cheeks in each of her hands and placed a big sloppy kiss on his lips. 

Sweet Pea picked up Betty and swung her in circles and Jughead hugged Veronica and kissed the top of her head. The three girls all exchanged kisses as it was their New Years tradition, however, Cheryl contributed hers from the comfort of Joaquin’s back.

Betty went and wrapped her arms around Fangs and Toni and they all continued to yell at no one and nothing until their voices hurt and the bottles of champagne were gone. Betty wrapped herself under Jughead and kissed him as hard as she could. 

“Hi,” he breathed. “It’s a new year.”

“It is,” she replied.

“Are you okay?” He asked. 

She bit her lip and nodded her head. She was about to lean in to kiss him again when Cheryl turned on throwback Jonas Brother’s songs until they were all so drunk and happy that the three of them fell into Betty and Jughead’s bed together like before. 

When they woke up in the morning with champagne headache’s they didn’t even care that they didn’t spend the night with their partners because they knew they’d be able to do it again, and again, and again.

All year long, in fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Jk. But not. Because 2020 has been a rollercoaster and ringing in the new year (aka my anniversary) feels like 30 years ago.
> 
> Stay tuned for a little mini-filler chap on Thurs night as an apology for the late update last week!
> 
> Bughead smut next week too. Pinky promise.
> 
> As always! Come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> Please leave all the love via comments and PLEASE look at my other story you guys are my life line and always give the best ideas + support.
> 
> Stay safe and healthy!!
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	14. But We Could Be Together // If You Wanted To

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And though he continued to fall for her in a confusing and frankly unwanted way, she started to slip from his grasp. She picked up more late night shifts at Pop’s and Cheryl extended practice until _just_ before Betty had to be at work. He thought nothing of it until he noticed a crowd of Serpents sitting in the back of the diner. 
> 
> Betty never served them.
> 
> She just looked at them.
> 
> And one of them was always looking back.
> 
> The day of the assembly when they found out the Serpents were going to be in school with them, Archie’s initial thought was, _not the guy who looks at Betty,_ followed by the collective rage of his teammates and fellow students.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii my loves.
> 
> This week has been rough. NGL. 
> 
> Here is a v short (for me) mini-chap to get you to Tuesday. I have been thinking about this character a lot and how to write them a small story line that wouldn't take up to much time from our little group. & This chap pushes me over the 100k mark!
> 
> Cher gives them a group name in chapter 15.
> 
> Can't wait for Tuesday and as always, let me know what you think.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Just the story. This chap (as always) is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

_Do I Wanna Know? — Arctic Monkeys_

**(APOV)**

When you do something for the last time, usually you don’t know that’s the case.

Like the last time you have a playdate with friends. Or the last time you watch a certain movie. Or the last time you kiss the person you love. 

Usually, you’re not expecting it to be the last.

So when Archie walked Betty to school on the day of the Serpent announcement assembly, he didn’t think it was going to be the last. In his mind, he was going to walk Betty to school again on Monday, and there, on that walk, he would tell her how he felt.

When Betty admitted her feelings for Archie at some vague point in his memory, he brushed it off as an over-extended childhood crush. When he heard that she slept with Chuck Clayton, he brushed off the overwhelming dread and anger as a protectiveness he felt for her.

Neither of those instances led him to believe that he actually had any feelings for her. To be perfectly honest, he thought the love he felt for her was brotherly at most, and paid no mind to his actual feelings.

It was only when she fainted in Chemistry class that he realized he loved her in a different way. In a way that consumed him. In a way that scared him. He felt nauseas at the realization of these feelings and tried to push them back to the depths of his soul, but it was impossible.

And though he continued to fall for her in a confusing and frankly unwanted way, she started to slip from his grasp. She picked up more late night shifts at Pop’s and Cheryl extended practice until _just_ before Betty had to be at work. He thought nothing of it until he noticed a crowd of Serpents sitting in the back of the diner. 

Betty never served them.

She just looked at them.

And one of them was always looking back.

The day of the assembly when they found out the Serpents were going to be in school with them, Archie’s initial thought was, _not the guy who looks at Betty,_ followed by the collective rage of his teammates and fellow students.

In the chaos, he looked up towards the back of the auditorium where Betty, Cheryl and Veronica were sitting, and Archie saw a look of hope cross Betty’s face. It was a boomerang, that hope. It bounced between concern to confusion to calculated thinking to hope again.

When that weekend Betty didn’t ask to hang out and spent the whole time working, Archie felt his stomach drop at the idea that she was sitting at Pop’s falling in love with someone else. 

Monday rolled around and Archie was half way to Betty’s doorstep when she told him not to bother coming and getting her. She was using her dad’s truck.

Her dead dad.

Archie wondered if the Serpent knew that.

Betty was at school before him, but Archie got a front row seat to her walking up to the Serpent, calling him, “Beanie Boy,” telling another to shut up, and then being hugged by the one who she had yelled at.

The monster was slowly awakening.

The rest of the Serpents dispersed and Betty was left standing in the middle of the hall with _the_ Serpent and the monster that Archie didn’t know existed in the pit of his stomach stretched its limbs and cracked its knuckles.

It opened its eyes with a blazing fire when the Serpent kissed her hand and said, “until then, Betty Cooper,” and then walked away, smirking at Archie as he went.

He called Betty naive later that day. 

He didn’t knew if he regretted it at the time or meant it but in his mind he was keeping her safe. He was keeping her away from the monsters that existed outside of his body, rather than the ones that roamed the halls. 

He wasn’t expecting her to ask him to leave and tell him that she didn’t want to talk anymore. The words sliced through Archie slowly, like a dull and rusty blade. Where his sharp tongue and outburst about her naivety stung like a hot whip, her calculated and teary exclamation felt like a slow motion blow in all directions. Like he was sitting in a jar of molasses that was on fire. 

The next day Archie approached her in Chemistry. Her new lab partner was _the_ Serpent and Archie wondered what he had done to receive this punishment. When he tried to talk to her, _Jughead_ told him to go away, and the look of gratitude that crossed Betty’s face made Archie squeamish, and realized that approaching her in school was no longer an option considering she had made such good friends with the leader of the Serpents.

Instead he planned to talk to Betty that night after practice, but he pulled into his driveway only to find her bare legs wrapped around _Jughead-Leader-of-the-Serpents-Jones_ and sitting on the hood of his car. He had on an oversized sweatshirt and from what he could tell, nothing else, and was flirtatiously biting the edge of the straw. Between sips, Jughead would take the cup from her and drink from the straw that she just had in her mouth and Archie felt like he was intruding on a private moment by looking on.

That Wednesday was the first time he let the monster take control. He found Betty walking alone in the hallway, and from the looks of it, she was incredibly hungover. A hungover Betty was a weak Betty and without her entourage of Serpents, Archie knew he could talk to her.

He was wrong though. 

Whatever magic the Serpents had, they put it into that tiny girl, because she fought him back hard. 

_Push her into the lockers._

He did.

_Inch your hands up her throat. There’s no one watching. Make her understand._

He did.

_Good,_ the monster thought greedily, and a feeling of pride welled inside him.

Until someone grabbed him off of her and he hit the lockers on the opposite end of the wall _hard._ He watched Betty crumple to the ground and knew that what he had done was the most fucked up thing in the universe and the only person to blame was himself.

The monster wasn’t some form of external being that controlled his actions, merely a internal monologue that was fueled by rage, ego and jealously.

He didn’t actually think that, but he would later find out that it was true.

The big one knocked him out with one punch and stuck him in a storage closet, and when Archie woke up twenty minutes later, he saw the two Serpents and Betty walking out of the girls bathroom together.

Betty was waring a different sweatshirt.

Jughead wasn’t wearing one at all.

If he ever had to justify his actions in court, he would claim temporary insanity. It was Halloween, and for years Archie had been trying to get Betty to dress in something sexy, but even Cheryl wasn’t on his side.

“It’s her body, Archie. If she doesn’t want to show skin its her choice. And it’s my house, so if you want to be present at the party, you’ll shut up about it,” Cheryl had said year after year. But this Halloween when he walked in, Betty was sitting on the steps with the big Serpent who spun her around drinking from a flask he procured from his Serpents jacket. 

At this point, Archie had become somewhat accustomed to the girls’s friendship with the Serpents. They all sat together at lunch, and even Kevin Keller was brought in. So it wasn’t all that shocking to see Betty with them.

But she was as naked as one could be without _actually_ being naked. To the point where when one of the strobe lights would go off in a certain direction, Archie could see her nipples. He looked around and tried to locate Jughead, see if it was safe enough for him to go and talk to her. But he was standing at the top of the stairs, and the look of love that he was giving her hit harder than when the big one punched him. 

Jughead was utterly in love with Betty. And it was the worst thing to happen to Archie since he realized he loved her. 

He got as drunk as he could that night, trying to numb the pain of seeing them together. Trying to sedate the monster that was thrashing around inside of him. He didn’t know if he was going to throw up because of the alcohol or the jealousy. 

He swore he had it under control. He had told Reggie that was leaving, not giving any real explanation, but just, bolting. He was halfway across the dance floor when he was them. Betty Cooper was dancing with Jughead Jones, dripping in sex. And Jughead was the one who got to clean it up.

So if it was ever brought to court, Archie would claim temporary insanity.

He knew that in order to punch someone without breaking your thumb, you needed to tuck your thumb into your fist. Hands clenched tightly and ready to swing, Archie thought all too late about how bad of an idea it would be.

But he tapped Jughead on the shoulder anyway, spinning him around and right hooking him with all the strength he had in his body.

He didn’t even flinch, just looked utterly confused about what just happened.

_You, Archie,_ hissed the monster, _are about to die. Jughead didn’t even flinch. Didn’t take a step back or cry out in anguish. In fact, he ended up looking even more manly in the eyes of Betty. Look at her, already prepared to dote on him like he’s the victim. Which I guess he is. Because you thought it would be a good idea to punch the leader of the Southside Serpents_

Jughead massaged his jaw for a moment and looked over at Betty, asking, “did that just happen?”

“Archie!” Betty screamed over the still playing music. “What the fuck is your problem?”

_See, she's mad at you. You did it. You set out to punch him and you did. But you also ruined every and any chance you had at a friendship with her. I hope you’re happy._

“Betty— I—”

“Seriously dude, what the fuck?” Jughead asked. Archie realized that Jughead wasn’t dumb, even if he did have a dumb name. But he was smart enough to deduce why Archie had punched him. At this, Archie’s senses finally came back to him since he had given in to the monster and every secret desire he'd ever had. Why had he done that in the middle of a party? 

At Cheryl’s house? 

Cheryl, who was just as good a friend of the Serpents as anyone else in that group.

Really?

Archie started to panic and turned to run away but was met by a wall of the big Serpent who fucked him up the first time. 

“Come back again for round two so soon, Andrews? I’m shocked. You didn’t seem to like it so much last time.” Archie tried to push past him but two other Serpents who he had seen but never met stepped forward, making it impossible for him to run.

“Do what you want to him,” Archie heard Jughead say to the three “Pea, I still need you on the ground. You can do what you want though. Just nothing irreparable.” _Thank you?_

Then Jughead walked up to Archie and whispered, “hit me again though, and I swear I’ll let them do whatever, and I mean _whatever,_ they want.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I obviously don't condone Archie's behavior. AT ALL. But I wanted to find a way to introduce a small thread that is going to be carried out over the next few chapters.
> 
> For next chapter: Cheryl gives the group a "group name," a few of them deal with the Dorian problem, and Jughead refers to himself with the word "husband."
> 
> Oh.
> 
> And smut.
> 
> Soooooo much Bughead smut
> 
> As always, please let me know what you think and come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> Also... new the compound chapter tonight. Midnight/1am EST as I can never stop editing. There's going to be skinny dipping.
> 
> Oh! And I already have a new fic idea... does that make me crazy.
> 
> Anyhoo
> 
> xx  
> BB


	15. I Wanna B The One U Need

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every single person had different expressions on their faces. Veronica looked annoyed as all hell, but her eyes held laughter behind them. Fangs looked skeptical, Joaquin had his head in both of his hands, and Betty saw him drag them down his face and then placed his chin on them. Kevin had his hand over his mouth and his eyes wide. Toni and Cheryl stood there with mouthes open, except Cheryl had her hands clasped under her chin with excitement. Sweet Pea just looked confused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!!
> 
> Here's smut & fluff & all around humor & no angst because we need it!
> 
> No long note today. Das it. 
> 
> Love you.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

_Heaven Sent—GUNDAM_

“You’re all my husband!” Jughead yelled as he jumped up onto the table where they sat for lunch. He quite literally jumped, standing on the middle of the metal table and almost knocking Sweet Pea’s lunch off the table with his boot.

It was the first day back at school after the winter vacation, and Jughead had been suspiciously absent since Chemistry class. He had driven Betty, Cheryl and Toni in to school, attended his first two classes and then dipped, kissing Betty on the forehead and telling her he'd be back at lunch.

Betty assumed it had something to do with Dorian, but when Sweet Pea was in calculus and not with Jughead at the Wyrm, she started to grow worried.

After his outburst, she was still worried.

They all looked to Betty for an explanation and she shrugged, just as confused as the rest of them. 

“I am so confused,” Cheryl said. She had her head resting on Toni’s shoulder and was smiling up at Jughead, who still hadn’t gotten off the table.

“Jones!” Betty yelled. This got everyone’s attention. She rarely addressed him by his last name, but apparently this situation called for it. “Get down!”

“Copy that, Boss Lady,” he said and jumped off the table. He sat down next to Betty and Sweet Pea and kissed her hard. And with tongue. In front of all their friends.

“Um, ew,” Sweet Pea said, trying not to touch Betty while the kiss was happening. In the middle of parting her lips with his tongue, Jughead picked her up off of Sweet Pea’s lap and shifted her onto his. 

Betty felt her body vibrate at the sensations and things he was making her feel when she heard a throat clear from behind her.

“Not to disrupt you from this amazing round of PDA you’re engaging us in,” Joaquin started, “but Andrews is sending glares this way and Sweet Pea is visibly upset. So let’s just unlock those lips and move on to a different conversation.”

Betty blushed and Jughead moved her further up his lap, letting her feel just how much their _very public_ make-out session had effected him.

“Right,” Jughead said, “as I was saying. You all are all my husband! We’re husbands. And Betty’s my wife. But that’s neither here nor there.” Jughead said in one breath. Betty snapped her head back so she could see him.

He had the biggest smile on his face and though Betty wanted to scream and demand an explanation, she couldn’t. He looked so happy, and Betty would be damned if she took that away.

Cheryl didn’t care so much.

“What do you mean “we’re husbands”?” She asked.

When they got back from Lodge Lodge, Jughead informed everyone who needed to know of the plan surrounding Dorian. Which quickly became everyone as secrets were hard to come by in their little family. Everyone had rules and roles that needed to be followed. Sweet Pea, Fangs, Jughead, Joaquin and Kevin we in charge of getting Dorian out of the apartment and into jail. 

Jughead told Betty that he was surprisingly cooperative and was more afraid of Malachi than going to jail. Kevin, advocating for the Sheriff’s department, told him that there was a possibility of him serving less time if he cooperated. 

He wasn’t worried about time. 

Sweet Pea also put the fear of [the] god [that Jughead didn't believe in] in him if he said anything about the Serpents and the gun and the holding him hostage that Malachi wouldn’t be the only person he’d be running from. 

And Kevin was going to be there. So it wasn’t like he could lie. 

(Kevin definitely didn't approve of the threatening and demanded an explanation about the gun later that day).

It went much smoother than any of them could’ve expected, so Betty should have realized then that as always, shit would hit the fan.

It did.

Before the holiday, Jughead, Betty, Cheryl, Toni, Veronica and Sweet Pea all went with Betty to her house on Elm St. so she could confront Alice, get her stuff, and get out of there. She had been staying with Cheryl (but really, with Jughead), since. When she needed to get more clothes, Veronica would go over with Sweet Pea to get them.

Now though, it was the New Year, and Betty didn’t quite know where she was going to be living, as her eighteenth birthday wasn't for a few weeks and she was still _technically_ under her mother’s care.

A joke, really.

Alice essentially kicked her out of the house, telling her to not come back, even if she was dying. 

Which, led Betty to say, “good thing we know how you act when someone dies.”

That obviously didn’t go over well. Alice started screaming lunched at Betty, but she just ducked past her and ran up to her room, letting Sweet Pea and Jughead handle Alice instead. When they left, there was much less violence than the time before, and Betty was sure that she was going to be okay. Maybe not in that exact moment, but in time, she’d be okay.

Sweet Pea also convinced Alice to move her car so he could take the truck. According to him, when she refused, he went “all ninja on her ass, Coop. You should have seen it. I was like ‘hiyaa!’ and she caved and moved that shit _**on sight!**_ ” But Betty had a feeling he just held out her car keys with his angry Sweet Pea face and brass knuckles flashing and she went along with it.

It was nice to think he really did go “all ninja” on her nonetheless.

Jughead suggested they fix up the trailer and his bike and her truck all at the same time, and when they were done, they could move in there. They were at the bar at the time with everyone, and Cheryl was standing right next to them. At the mention of Betty moving in with Jughead, Cheryl laughed at him and walked away, pulling Betty by the hand as she went. 

Cheryl demanded that Betty stay with her until she was eighteen and then could do what she wanted from there. 

Betty didn’t know what she wanted.

Which is how she found herself living at Cheryl’s on paper, but sleeping at Jughead’s most nights. And when she wasn’t in his bed at the Wyrm, he was in hers at Cheryl’s.

Or all of them were at one place or another.

It had been close to a month of this, and Betty, who hadn’t been ready for sex before, was so, so _so_ ready now. Jughead must have caught onto it because his advances were becoming more public and frequent and Betty knew that if something didn’t happen soon that she would actually catch on fire.

She was subconsciously squirming on Jughead’s lap when his hands clamped down hard against her waist and his thumbs tucked themselves in the back waistband of her leggings, snapping her back to the situation at hand. She stopped moving immediately, but Jughead just shifted her back and forth a bit slow, torturing them both.

“Aside from the point that he said _we,_ ” Fangs stressed, “why are you calling us all your husband?” 

“Great question, my dear Fangsy,” Jughead quipped, taking on Cheryl’s name for him. “If you all would so kindly follow to the Jeep, I will tell you why you are my husbands, why Betty doesn’t fit in that category, but, I think you could figure that out, _and_ why I said we.” He moved Betty off of his lap and started to walked away. He got about ten feet from their table before clapping his hands at them saying, “chop chop, kids!”

“How are we both your kids and your husband?” Sweet Pea grumbled.

“I am literally neither,” Betty said. She grabbed her lunch and the nine of them walked out of the cafeteria. She caught up to Jughead and tucked herself under his arm. He kissed the top of her forehead and then steered her towards her locker.

“Get your stuff,” he whispered darkly in her ear. 

“Why?” She breathed, but still hurriedly undid the lock on her locker and shoved her books into her bag.

“Because I am going to show everyone what’s in the Jeep, and then you and me are going to go somewhere and I am going to have my fucking way with you. Got it?”

Betty felt heat pool between her legs and could feel her heartbeat through her clit and she wanted to jump him in the middle of the hallway. 

“Boss Man,” Joaquin called from the door. Jughead quickly placed himself behind Betty and walked with her in front of him until they reached the door.

“You’re the least smooth person I’ve ever met in my life,” Toni said.

“And who signs your paychecks?!” Jughead yelled.

“The least smooth person I’ve ever met in my life!” Toni yelled back.

Betty hid her laugh behind her hand and Jughead glared in her direction. Then he looked over her head and Betty watched him make eye contact with Sweet Pea. Before she knew what was happening, Sweet Pea had taken her bag and tossed it to Joaquin and Jughead threw Betty over his shoulder.

“I hate this game, and you two, so fucking much,” she grumbled. She rested her elbows on Jughead’s back and let herself go limp so Jughead could successfully pass her Sweet Pea, who was standing on the other side of a cement divider. 

“How’s it going, sister?” Sweet Pea asked. He had shifted her so she was riding on his back, and Betty started slapping the side of his face. Not hard, but aggressive and constant enough that Sweet Pea let her down next to Jughead.

“Okay, Boss Man,” Fangs said from behind them. “We’re almost at the Jeep. Care to explain?”

“Okay so… you all know that meme where the wife is like: I have good news and bad news. And then the husband is like: bad news first. And then she’s like…”

“Oh my fucking god that you don’t believe in,” Veronica said from Jughead’s other side. “You got…” but she didn’t get to finish her sentence as Jughead had stepped behind her and clamped his hand over her mouth. 

“Hush, Park Ave. Okay. Right, so he says: bad news first. And she’s like: the puppy made a mess in the sink. And then he’s like: we don’t have a puppy. And then she sends a picture of a puppy in a sink?”

Every single person had different expressions on their faces. Veronica looked annoyed as all hell, but her eyes held laughter behind them. Fangs looked skeptical, Joaquin had his head in both of his hands, and Betty saw him drag them down his face and then placed his chin on them. Kevin had his hand over his mouth and his eyes wide. Toni and Cheryl stood there with mouthes open, except Cheryl had her hands clasped under her chin with excitement. Sweet Pea just looked confused.

“You?” Betty started. She had so many emotions going through her head, but the only thing that she could think to say was, “I’m not having sex in front of a dog.”

“That’s why the dog belongs to all of us, baby,” Jughead replied. Letting Veronica go, he walked over to the Jeep and opened the back door. Betty only then realized that all of the windows were open, and had she listened carefully, could just make out the sound of a tiny bark coming from the back seat.

Jughead shut the door with his foot, and in his hands was the fluffiest, smallest black and white puppy that Betty had ever seen. 

“There’s no fucking way,” Sweet Pea breathed next to her. He started towards Jughead and the dog, but Jughead walked right past him in Betty’s direction. Except he didn’t stop at Betty, he stopped at Cheryl.

“Don’t think I forgot, Red,” Jughead said to Cheryl, handing her the puppy. Cheryl had tears rolling down her cheeks and looked at the dog with the utmost love and admiration. 

“Forgot what?” Toni said, coming to stand next to her girlfriend and petting the puppy.

“One night, when Betty had fallen asleep, Jughead found me in one of my moments and sat down and talked to me while I sobered up. I told him I had wanted a puppy since Polly had left with the babies, but there was no way it would ever work out.”

“Jones did you buy my girl a puppy?” Toni asked. Everyone broke out into laughs and Cheryl handed the puppy to Betty, who also very quickly fell in love.

“No, I didn’t, Tiny,” Jughead said with a sneer. “I bought my girlfriend a puppy. She just happens to live at your girlfriend’s house.”

“I’m not going to lie, but I never said I wanted a puppy,” Betty admitted. “Not that I don’t already love… babe? What’s this dog’s name?”

Everyone’s heads snapped in Jughead’s direction and Betty already knew she was going to regret asking. 

“We all need to remember how much we love this puppy and how much you love me, okay?”

No one said anything, and Jughead took a deep breath and continued, “his name is Hotdog.”

“Oh Daddy must hate you,” Betty whispered against Hotdog’s head. Jughead threw an unreadable glance in her direction.

“Give me the dog,” Sweet Pea said. He held Hotdog like a baby and he almost immediately started snoring. “There’s no way this is real,” Sweet Pea whispered. Veronica pulled out her phone and took a bunch of photos of Hotdog and posted a few on Instagram with the caption, “Boss Man bought Boss Lady a puppy and Uncle Sweet Pea fell in love.”

It was true. They all fell in love with the puppy. It made sense now, why Jughead kept saying that he got all of them something. There was no way that with the amount of time they spent together that they wouldn’t all equally fall in love with Hotdog. Jughead, being the smart gang/group leader that he was, took the formality out of all of it, and just called him, “their dog.” 

In a sense, it was a timeshare puppy, but no one was that upset by it.

There were no more gang members to deal with (at least, for the immediate future), Betty was out of Alice’s house, and they had a puppy. 

It was as ideal as it could possibly get.

“So are we really ditching school on the first day back to go hang out in a bar with our dog?” Kevin asked. He had become _much_ more vocal and upfront about things after he had to deal with the whole Dorian situation. He told Betty that he no longer felt like that prim and proper gay guy dating the stereotypical bad boy. Which, in theory, he was. But none of them were who they were at the start of the school year, so who were they to judge?

“Oh my god,” they heard a voice call from a few feet away. “Is that a puppy?” It was Ethel Muggs. She was a girl in their year who had an obvious crush on Jughead and Sweet Pea, which made Betty very angry for very different reasons. Without necessarily meaning to, they grouped themselves in such a way that Ethel wouldn’t really be able to get past them and to Sweet Pea.

“Hey Ethel,” Betty said. She was tucked under Jughead’s arm and had her arms around his waist. “Yeah, this is our dog. Hotdog.”

“Oh,” Ethel said with an upturned lip. “Wait, whose?”

“Ours,” they all said at the same time, then each having the same thought of _okay, what the fuck?_

That same “what the fuck?” look was very clear on Ethel’s face. Joaquin took it upon himself to clear it up.

“Yeah. It probably seems weird. But in someway shape or form, at least two of us are sleeping in the same place at any given point in time. It didn’t make sense to say the dog was one person’s over another because we spend too much time together.” He paused. “Saying that out loud to someone outside of the eight of you is oddly disturbing.”

“Noted,” Jughead said. “Pick one couple that Hotdog belongs to on paper. Will be discussed at tomorrow’s family dinner.”

“Oh! Can we also add the name that Quin and I came up with for our group at dinner?” Cheryl asked.

“You came up with a name for our group?” Sweet Pea asked.

At the same time, Ethel asked, “you guys have family dinners?” Betty had completely forgotten she was there, that’s how insane the situation she was in felt.

“Every Tuesday,” Fangs said. Ethel jumped at his voice. As always, Fangs was the one to hang back and not say something until he knew it would make an impact. Case and point. 

“Right,” Ethel said slowly. “Well, your dog is really cute. And I’ve got to go, the bell is about to ring.” 

She practically ran away from them and Betty whispered, “we have to go now.”

She was met with multiple different versions of “yep” and “uh-huh.” She climbed into the front seat of the Jeep and Hotdog was placed on her lap. Cheryl and Toni rode in with them, so they got in the back. Sweet Pea and Veronica were in her car and Fangs, Kevin and Joaquin were all in another.

“You guys,” Cheryl said with wide eyes. “What if… what if Joaquin, Fangs and Kevin… are a thruple?”

“If you’re going to be in my car you can’t say things like ‘thruple,’” Jughead said in all seriousness. “And wouldn’t you know? Isn’t Joaquin your Sweet Pea?” He asked her.

“First of all, no ones anyone’s Sweet Pea. And second of all, _no_ he hasn’t told me anything. What would be the point in asking you if he had?”

They said nothing else on the drive back to the Wyrm, and Betty was absolutely content holding Jughead’s hand in her left and stroking Hotdog’s head with her right. When they got to the Wyrm, they all walked up to Jughead’s apartment. It must have been comical to see: a group of nine inseparable teenagers and a very small very furry puppy.

Betty immediately threw her bag down in Jughead’s room and then turned to walk out the door, but was met with a very tall, very brooding, very _sexy,_ Jughead. He walked right up to her and backed her up until just before she hit the bed and then turned them, so he was sitting on the edge and had her straddling him.

“I am going to do so many things to you, baby girl,” Jughead whispered while placing kisses against her neck and cheek. It was like when they weren’t talking and their only communication were chaste kisses that burned through their skin. “But there are seven other people and a puppy in our living room.”

“Both of those things were your idea,” she hissed as he scraped lightly against her neck. She knocked his beanie off of his head and tugged hard at his hair. His response to it shocked them both. He wrapped one of his hands around her throat and pulled her down to kiss him. 

“Jug,” she said breathlessly, furiously grinding down in hopes of getting some friction or relief.

“Oh you don’t get to cum yet, baby girl,” he said, hand still around her throat. He continued to thrust against her core and whispered, “you only get to cum when your pretty little pussy is pressed against my tongue.” He kissed her slowly and deeply and made small circles with his thumb on the side of his neck.

“Now, get off of me. Let’s go be good hosts.” He moved her gently off her lap and onto her feet. Betty, feeling all too turned on and all too bold, dropped to her knees the second he stood up and kissed his obvious hard on through his jeans. 

Standing she said, “and the same goes for you.”

It was the longest hangout that they had ever been part of, and the entire time, they kept finding ways to turn each other on. When they were sitting on the couch, Jughead reached behind Betty so he could grab the back of her neck and apply pressure to the sides. 

When Jughead went into the kitchen to get something Betty stood behind him and slipped her palm down the front of his jeans. 

When _Betty_ was in the kitchen, Jughead came up behind her and squeezed her ass so hard that she could feel herself get wetter as it happened.

Her response was to take off her bra.

His was kick everyone out. 

Except getting people to leave the apartment was a lot harder with a puppy. Because said puppy needed to go out. And there was the question of who the puppy was going to stay with that night. And then the argument about making a schedule. Which led to an argument about _when_ they should make the schedule. 

They chose to make it during family dinner at Cheryl’s the following night. 

“Jones, can we please take Hotdog tonight?” Cheryl asked while batting her eyes. “I didn’t even realize this was a question. Nor did I realize Betty was sleeping here. Which is why I didn’t realize it was a question.”

“She’s staying here tonight. And so is Hotdog. I have all of his stuff set up in our room and it doesn’t make sense to bring it over now. We can buy stuff for everyone tomorrow. I don’t care. All I care about is you all _leaving_ now. Please,” Jughead said.

“You said ‘our’ room,” Joaquin said.

“No I didn’t,” Jughead replied.

“Guys!” Toni exclaimed. “Remember when he was like ‘find my Betty’s phone number I don’t care how you do it’ on our _first_ day of school? That was when she didn’t know your name yet and was calling you Beanie Boy.”

“Yes, no I remember,” Jughead said.”But I didn’t say _my_ Betty.”

“Yes you did,” all of the Serpents said in response.

“And just for that, Red,” Jughead said, taking Hotdog from her, “you aren’t taking him tonight. Thank your lady friend.”

“Aagh!” Cheryl yelled and stormed out of the apartment. “Love you Betty, hate you Jughead!” She called as she was walking down the stairs.

“Love you too, Red!” Jughead yelled back. He hugged Toni and Veronica and kissed them both on the cheek. Fangs, Joaquin and Kevin all said their goodbyes and walked out, closing the door behind them.

“I hate to do this to you, Boss Man,” Sweet Pea said when it was just the three of them in the apartment, “but Tall Boy just called a meeting of the Serpents. Which I guess he still can. So we need to go to that.”

Betty had never seen Sweet Pea look sorry before, but Betty could guess that he had figured out what was going on between the two of them, and felt bad that he had to press pause for them.

“Are you fucking kidding me…” 

“It’s fine, Jug,” Betty said and stood on her toes to kiss him softly on the lips. “I’ll take Hotdog out and then come back upstairs and you can meet me late.”

Jughead had his eyes closed and exhaled sharply through his nose and nodded his head. The three of them walked out the door, and Jughead made Betty wear his Serpent jacket while she was walking the dog in the dark outside the bar. 

It wasn’t the first time it had happened either. Jughead was in the shower and Betty needed heavy cream for the pastiche was making, and Jughead really didn’t want her driving all the way over to the Northside. 

“I mean… I could just go to the Southside store,” she said through the crack in the bathroom door. 

He was silent for a long moment before saying, “fine. But take my Serpent jacket. The snake on the back is unique to me, so if anyone tries to mess with you, they’ll have me to deal with later.”

“Oh and you’re so scary?”

“Elizabeth,” he growled. “You forget that when I’m not handing you to Sweet Pea over inanimate objects that I am one of the most dangerous men in Riverdale.”

She didn’t push it again.

She also didn’t push the jacket thing because she wasn’t going to lie, the grocery store was incredibly creepy, but the guys who catcalled her as she got out of the car were really nice once they realized whose jacket she was wearing.

Betty kissed Jughead at the bottom of the stairs and hugged Sweet Pea and then walked out. It wasn’t too cold for a January night, but it was still unpleasant. She stayed outside with Hotdog for as long as she could so he didn’t have to go out again in the middle of the night, and then brought him in and back up the stairs. 

She put the puppy in his crate and locked the door before taking a quick shower and getting into bed. She was wearing nothing but one of Jughead’s hoodies and a pair of very lacy black underwear that she had hidden in the back of her drawer. 

She trident to fall asleep, she really did, but woke to the front door slamming and Jughead angrily stomping into their room.

“Betty,” he said loudly, expecting her to be awake. “Fuck, I’m sorry baby,” he whispered. 

Her eyes fluttered open. “What’s wrong?”

“The entire fucking meeting was about my dad and me and how I’m doing this ‘the wrong way’ and how my dad wouldn’t have let Dorian go to the cops he would have just had him killed. Which is true, by the way, but no. I’m the bad guy.”

“Come here,” Betty said, pulling back the covers and patting the spot next to him. 

“I will, baby. I just want to take a shower first.” He walked over and placed a kiss on her forehead and walked into the bathroom. Betty waited until she heard the water running and his clothes hit the floor that she shuffled out of their room and into the hall. 

_I said you’d cum pressed against my tongue, Jones,_ she thought. She stripped outside of the bathroom door and opened it slowly, not wanting to alert him to her being there. She could see through the opaque shower door that his head was hanging under the water and his fists were on the wall behind the shower head.

Betty slid the door open carefully. Her breathing was growing tight and constricted and she realized that this was the first time that either of them had seen the other shirtless. Sure, Betty had seen Jughead changing and he had seen her in her bra a handful of times. But this was the first moment that she was going to see everything.

He turned when she opened the door, and a slow and lazy smile spread across his face.

* * *

“Hi baby,” he whispered as she stepped into the shower. He stepped to the side so she could get her already wet hair wet again. He knew she had taken a shower already so her being there could really only mean one thing. 

He openly stared at his perfect girlfriend as the droplets of hot water fell down her back and clung to her _absolutely_ perfect breasts. He had been dreaming about what they would feel like in his hands for months. His eyes continued to wander down her body and he was in awe of how beautiful she was. 

Since moving out of Alice’s house, Betty only ran when she wanted to and ate whatever made her feel good. Looking at her now, Jughead realized that when they first meths was so skinny, and now, now she was perfect, and healthy and beautiful.

She had always been beautiful. 

He continued down her body, unabashedly checking her out as her face was still tilted back in the water. Her legs were long and the arch in her back was perfect and Jughead could feel himself growing harder by the second.

“Couldn’t wait?” He asked and stepped close to her. Her breasts were pressed against his chest and Jughead could feel how hard they were. 

He needed her.

“Actually,” she whispered, kissing his throat and the top of his chest, “you seemed like you had had a rough meeting, and I wanted to make it better.” 

Then without warning, she dropped to her knees. 

Logistically, Jughead knew that this wouldn’t work if he didn’t adjust the shower head so it wasn’t hitting directly on his chest and her head, so he grabbed it quickly moved it down. It was hitting the bottom of her feet, and Jughead saw her toes curl at the new sensation. 

He held both arms out on either side of him, one hand grasping the top of the shower door, and the other pressed flat agains the wall. She kissed right along his hips and down to the tops and his inner thighs. He flexed his pelvic muscles and his dick hit the side of her face. She grabbed it with her left hand and flipped it up. 

She dragged her tongue up with one long, slow, lick and then placed the head in her mouth. Jughead shivered and felt his stomach muscles tighten even more.

_Breathe, Jones._

She swirled her tongue around the head of his cock and sucked hard, hollowing her cheeks and applying warm, hot, pressure on every side. Then she gently released him and looked up, one hand stroking his cock and the other holding his hip. Jughead grabbed his dick from her and tapped it twice on her lips, parting them and getting them sticky with a combination of his pre-cum and her spit.

He removed his hand from the wall and grabbed her chin, guiding himself into her mouth as far as he could before pulling out and doing it again. This time, Betty met him half way and took him all the way in the back of her throat. She hollowed out her cheeks against and pulled back slowly. She continued to with that motion until Jughead thought he was going to come. 

He grabbed her chin again and pulled her up, plunging his tongue into her mouth and kissing her hard. She threw both arms around his shoulders and he wrapped his around her waist, crossing them behind him so he could be holding onto her ass at the same time. 

“Why’d you stop me?” She asked. 

He thrust against her and said, “because you’re going to cum in my mouth before I cum in yours.” He reached behind her to turn off the water and stepped out of the shower. He handed her the towel that was hanging on the door and watched as she quickly dried off and Jughead stared in awe at the way her body moved. 

“I’m never letting you wear clothes again,” he mumbled when she handed him the towel.

“Well that means you’re going to have to lock me in here forever,” she replied. He wrapped the towel around his waist and opened the door, indicating that they were leaving the bathroom now.

“Don’t fucking tempt me, woman.”

“I thought my name was baby?”

An _actual_ growl left Jughead’s throat and he picked her up. He threw her over his shoulder like he had done just that afternoon, except now he could both smell and see her arousal, and could smack her bare ass as much as he wanted.

In a few short steps, they were back in their room, and Jughead threw Betty on the bed. He quickly realized that they had a dog, and Betty had specifically said that she didn’t want to have sex in front of Hotdog, so he moved his crate out to the hall and shut the door.

_Perfect._

Betty was laying on the bed with her legs spread and one of her hands absentmindedly stroking herself. Jughead continued to stare until he felt her eyes on his face, and snapped his eyes back up to her. 

“Hi,” he whispered and crawled up the bed. He lay down between her legs and placed his cheek on one of her thighs and looked up at her. She had her head to the side so she could see him, and he made slow strokes with his thumb on her inner thigh as far up as he could go without actually being inside of her.

Feeling suddenly shy he asked, “can I go down on you?” He lifted his head so he could see her better. She nodded and curled one of her fingers in a “come here” motion. He crawled up so his dick was pressed against her core and he wondered when his towel came off.

“You can also do that,” she whispered, grinding her hips against his. He ducked his head and kissed her slow, all of a sudden needing to slow down. 

“If you don’t want to,” he started, but she just thrust herself against him again and he moaned into her mouth, obviously getting the point.

“Can we talk logistics for a second?” He asked. She nodded and he continued. “I’m clean. I got tested after the first time you spent the night. But I know that’s not the only concern here.”

Betty nodded again. “I’m also clean. Veronica made us get tested when she first started seeing… anyway. And I have an IUD. It’s like an implant thingy.”

“I know what they are,” Jughead whispered with a laugh against her collarbone. “It’s up to you what you want to do.”

“I want to feel all of you,” she whispered. He nodded his head and kissed her again. He brought her hand down to where they were pressed together and guided it to his dick. She wrapped her hand around it and moved it to her entrance. He replaced her hand with his and dragged his dick up and down her slit and circled her clit. She moaned deep in her chest and Jughead’s muscled tightened.

He lifted his head and shifted his weight onto his other forearm that was resting by her head.

“Slow,” she mumbled. He nodded and placed his head in her first, and pushing in inch by inch until he couldn’t anymore. He pulled out a little and pushed the rest of the way in. 

When he was all the way inside of her, he looked up and mouthed, “is this okay?” She nodded again and he kissed her slow, pushing his tongue into her mouth and swiping it across her teeth and lips and the roof of her mouth. 

Then he pulled all the way out and mumbled, “fuck slow,” and slammed back into her. She wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders and was tugging at the ends of her hair, her moans growing louder with each stroke. He slid his arms under her so he was pressed completely on top of her and had his arms by her hips. He continued in this position for a while before moving.

He stopped and moved her legs up his shoulders. Jughead forgot she was a cheerleader, so when her legs went over his shoulders, he was able to spread them out to the side in a straddle position and then reposition his arms by her head. 

“Fuck your pussy feels good, baby girl,” he moaned. “You like that?” She answered with a moan and Jughead wrapped his hand around her throat and said, “I asked you if you liked it.”

“Aah, fuck, yes. Fuck!” She screamed in response. Jughead stopped thrusting and bent down to kiss her.

“Good girl,” he said against her lips.

It was the first time she came. 

Jughead pulled out and without any warning, moved down and wrapped his lips around her clit and pushed two fingers inside of her. Betty screamed and Jughead reached up and pulled one of her nipples. He twisted it and turned it and rolled it against his thumb and forefinger and reveled in the noises Betty was making.

Moved his hand across her chest so he could focus on the other nipple and then went back to her clit. He kept his lips gently wrapped around it, but but short and hard “T” shaped motions with his tongue. He curled his fingers up and stroked intensely. He felt her inner walls pulse around his fingers and knew she was about to cum again. 

So let her, and helped her down from her orgasm, keeping up with his promise making her cum against his tongue. He gently pulled his fingers out and removed his lips from her clit and said, “on your hands and knees. Now.”

Betty pouted in protest, so Jughead said, “I’ll give you something to pout about,” and placed to hard slaps against her swollen clit.

“J-ug!” She screamed and Jughead said, “on your hands and knees.”

She rolled over and placed her head on the pillows and her arms next to her. She lifted her ass in the air and Jughead slapped it three times before slowly entering her. She let out a low moan that vibrated throughout Jughead’s whole body and he knew that in this position he wasn’t going to last much longer. He slowed his strokes and reached around and under them so his fingers could attach themselves to her clit. 

He kept the same regular rhythm and let her get comfortable to the feeling of him in this position. When he knew she was comfortable, he fucked her like she was air and he was drowning. It wasn’t anything like he had ever felt or experienced before. He had never felt so complete or happy or loved before, and felt every part of his body tightening in release: both physical and emotional. 

Wanting Betty to come again he sped up the motion of his fingers and angled his hips slightly downward so they were hitting her g-spot. 

“Jug, juggie, I’m g-gonna c-c-cum,” she cried out. Jughead knew she was on birth control, but made sure to pull out regardless. They stayed like that for a few moments, her with her ass in the air and covered in cum, him kneeling above him with his dick in his hand.

He grabbed the towel that had been apparently discarded at the bottom of the bed, and helped her clean up. He laid down and pulled her on top of him. She lay with her head on his chest and his arm around her waist and stroking her hair and tried not to cry. 

“Jughead,” she whispered and looked up at him. 

He met her eyes and kissed her nose and asked, “yes my love?”

“That was everything I could have hoped for.”

“I wanted to go for longer,” he admitted.

“Yeah but then at some point one of us would be too hot or part of our body would cramp and it just wouldn’t be as perfect as that was.” She reached up to kiss him and then left bed to use the bathroom and bring Hotdog back in from the hallway.

“Jughead,” Betty said as she got back into bed, “Jug, you got a dog today.”

“Elizabeth that can’t be what you’re thinking about right now.”

“It’s not, I promise,” she reassured him, but Jughead knew it probably wasn’t true. But it didn’t matter that he had got a dog that he was going to share with eight other people. It didn’t matter that he dad was trying to call the shots from prison. It didn’t matter that Betty got kicked out and didn’t really know what was next or what was to come. 

He had been dreaming about having sex with Betty Cooper since the day she yelled at him about buying ice cream at the grocery store late at night. The idea of it not being perfect enough for her had haunted him since then too. 

But it was so perfectly them. Kind of slow, not much talking, but enough to see that he could have some crazy fun with Betty and her apparent praise kink, not too fast or too slow. It was them. 

“I love you,” he whispered against her hair and let himself fall asleep completely naked next to the person he loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to make it as much of a mix between fluff and smut as I could, so I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Family dinner + some Archie + smut next chapter!
> 
> I think this was my least SweetBee chap ever.
> 
> As always, please let me know what you thought and come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> xx  
> BB


	16. Bet You Wanna Party Like...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hmm?” He asked with a smirk that Betty could only feel against her exposed collarbone. “What were you asking?”
> 
> She was only able to continue moaning at the things his lips and teeth were doing to her neck. Then out of nowhere she whimpered at the loss of contact between his lips and her body.
> 
> “I asked you a question,” he said darkly. His fingers were delicately stroking the hollow of her throat and knew he could feel the hard swallow of anticipation that his words drew from her.
> 
> “I was going to ask how—“ but Betty didn’t get to finish her sentence because Jughead’s door was ripped open and Betty went flying backwards.
> 
> “Coop if you’re going to insist on mouth fucking Jug in the family driveway, at least lock the damn doors,” Sweet Pea said with a teasing tone. He gently caught her and pulled her back up and into Jughead’s arms. 
> 
> He gave a quick two finger salute to the two of them and then turned on his heel and walked to the house.
> 
> “Well,” Jughead said, “I guess you should have asked your question sooner.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lovies!!
> 
> Here's to chapter 16!! 
> 
> The dinner party scene is inspired by a chapter in a fic called "If Every Word I Said Could Make You Laugh" by carmelinagunn on FFN! 
> 
> Its an AH/AU twilight fic and if that's your thing you should def check it out. It's SO worth it.
> 
> Disclaimer as always: I don't own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta'd so all mistakes are mine.

_Happy Birthday— Childish Major (feat. SZA, Isiah Rashad)_

Betty wondered if her friends could tell that she and Jughead had fucked more than three times over the course of twelve hours. 

That’s once every four hours. Not that Betty was counting.

(She was).

She both wanted to shout it from the rooftops and also keep it a secret because one of those times was in the back of his Jeep behind Pop’s after they had breakfast.

And Betty didn’t really think her friends would be interested in sitting back there if they knew.

On Tuesday Jughead told everyone that a few Serpents at the Wyrm were going to take care of Hotdog while they were at school, but any and everyone was welcome to go during lunch hour.

All of the Serpents knew who they were now.

Some even called Betty “Boss Lady.”

It was Tuesday, which meant family dinner at Cheryl’s house. They usually just ordered a bunch of take out from restaurants outside of Riverdale to break up the monotony of Jughead’s Pop’s addiction. 

**Cheryl Blossom to: Group Chat**  
2:46pm: can we get Chinese food tonight?

**Joaquin DeSantos to: Group Chat**  
2:53pm: don’t you usually decide what we’re getting anyway?

**Cheryl Blossom to: Group Chat**  
2:55pm: right. yes. we’re getting Chinese food for dinner tonight.

3:02pm: can I please have everyone’s orders?

**Fangs Fogarty to: Group Chat**  
3:05pm: isn’t waitressing Bethany’s job

**Betty Cooper to: Group Chat**  
3:07pm: we get out of school in eight minutes, Fangsy. and then I’m going to punch you in the face.

Betty honestly hated it when her friends called her Bethany, especially in their group chat. 

She also hated that they had a group chat, but she clearly didn’t have any control over that. Though it did help when they were trying to coordinate things, however, more often than not, it ended in someone threatening physical harm towards someone else.

At exactly 3:17pm, Betty walked right up to Fangs’s locker and punched him as hard as she could in the arm. No one was really that surprised when it happened as Betty was getting more comfortable with sticking up for herself since moving out of Alice’s and into Cheryl’s.

After punching him, Fangs wrapped his arm around Betty’s shoulder and pressed his cheek to her forehead, and the two of them walked out of the building together. They met everyone at Jughead’s Jeep and as soon as she saw him, Betty handed her bag to Fangs and broke away from his grasp. She booked it to Jughead, who luckily, was paying enough attention to what was happening. 

Betty jumped eagerly into Jughead arms and wrapped her legs around his waist.

“Hi beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. She peppered his face in kisses and wondered when she got so okay with public displays of affection. 

“Okay,” Cheryl stressed. “I need everyone’s orders for tonight please and thank you. And then I need everyone at Thornhill around seven-ish.”

“Who’s paying this time?” Toni asked. It had become an unspoken rule that every week a different couple paid for Tuesday night dinner. Fangs was usually lumped in with Joaquin and Kevin as Kevin could only make it half the time.

“I think it’s Sweet Pea and Veronica’s turn,” Jughead said. Betty fiddled with the fingers that were draped over her shoulder and tried not to look up at him with “please fuck me” eyes.

Even though that’s exactly what she wanted.

“That’s fine,” Sweet Pea said. “We’ll go around five to get it and then bring it back to yours, Red.” Cheryl smiled at him and then passed around her phone which was open to the notes app so everyone could put their orders in.

Once that was settled, Betty decided that everyone was actually going to head to Cheryl’s now and get homework done. 

“So I’m calling Boss Lady before I even start talking... but we’re all going to Cheryl’s now because I know for a fact that Fangs and Sweet Pea haven’t done calc homework in three weeks and we haven’t even been back from break two days.”

“I fucking hate you, Bethany,” Fangs said, and Jughead wrapped his arm around Betty protectively.

“Fine,” Sweet Pea said. They all got in their respective cars and Betty silently questioned why they didn’t carpool more often.

“How was your day, baby?” Jughead asked. He had opened the passenger side door for her to get in and grabbed her bag from Fangs, who had apparently been holding it for the last fifteen minutes.

“It was whatever. Archie keeps eyeing me, and I’m worried he’s going to try some shit at some point. At this point I know it’s impossible as I’m never _not_ with one of you guys, but it’s still unnerving.”

Jughead visibly tensed and asked, “do we need to talk to him?”

Betty shook her head. “No I don’t think so. If it persists or he actually approaches I’ll let you know.”

Jughead nodded his head and lifted her hand to his lips. Betty was reminded of the time that they met in the hallway for the first time and he kissed her hand and uttered his first, “until then.”

“We don’t spend much time apart anymore, do we?” Betty asked. But it was more of a statement than a question.

A look of panic crossed Jughead’s face and Betty rephrased. “When we used to only see each other in bits and pieces, like when we went two weeks without talking, you said ‘until then,’ more often. But now that we basically live together, the ‘until then’s’ have become just a known fact.” She paused and looked over at him. He had a ghost of a smile on his face and Betty said, “I love it.”

“And I love you,” he said against her knuckles. They spent the rest of the ride in “Betty and Jughead” silence. Which just meant that they talked with their eyes and hands and through song choices.

It annoyed their friends greatly, but they didn’t see any reason to stop. Would their friends rather they talked about their sexual tension and desires openly? 

Probably not.

They got to Cheryl’s first and Jughead unbuckled his seatbelt and Betty’s and pulled her across the center console and onto his lap. She was sitting sideways so her back was against the door and her legs were resting across the console.

Jughead grabbed her chin and twisted her face towards his and violently attacked her mouth. He didn’t give her the chance to win the battle of their tongues for domination, he just stuck his in her mouth and started stroking her tongue with his own, immediately coaxing a moan out of her.

“H-how,” she moaned into his ear as he pulled his mouth away from hers only to reattach it to a sensitive part of her neck.

“Hmm?” He asked with a smirk that Betty could only feel against her exposed collarbone. “What were you asking?”

She was only able to continue moaning at the things his lips and teeth were doing to her neck. Then out of nowhere she whimpered at the loss of contact between his lips and her body.

“I asked you a question,” he said darkly. His fingers were delicately stroking the hollow of her throat and knew he could feel the hard swallow of anticipation that his words drew from her.

“I was going to ask how—“ but Betty didn’t get to finish her sentence because Jughead’s door was ripped open and Betty went flying backwards.

“Coop if you’re going to insist on mouth fucking Jug in the family driveway, at least lock the damn doors,” Sweet Pea said with a teasing tone. He gently caught her and pulled her back up and into Jughead’s arms. 

He gave a quick two finger salute to the two of them and then turned on his heel and walked to the house.

“Well,” Jughead said, “I guess you should have asked your question sooner.”

Betty scoffed and delivered a featherlight slap to Jughead’s face, the same way she hit Sweet Pea in the face the day before when they were walking to Jughead’s Jeep.

“Elizabeth,” Jughead said darkly as he caught one of her fingers and traced the outline of his lips with it. “As I said those many months before, be careful what you start, as you may not be prepared to finish it.”

Betty, feeling more bold now that she and Jughead had actually had sex replied with, “I’m fairly positive that I can get you to finish.” 

She placed a searing kiss to his Adam’s Apple and his lips and then jumped out of the car. It was less graceful than she cared to admit, but she was leaving a very stunned and _very_ hard Jughead in the Jeep, and felt that that could be graceful enough.

Sweet Pea, Fangs and Joaquin were the only ones in the kitchen when Betty walked in. 

“Where’s Veronica and Kevin?” Betty asked. 

“They went with the girls to get Hotdog from the Wyrm. They’ll be back in a little.”

“Right,” Betty said, and walked past Sweet Pea to the cabinet where the cups were kept and stood on her tiptoes to get one.

“You have hickeys,” Sweet Pea grumbled into her ear. She jumped at how close he had gotten to her.

“I do?” Betty asked in a panic and Sweet Pea just nodded his head. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the kitchen. She handed the empty cup to Joaquin and allowed herself to be pushed into the living room and out the back doors that faced the pool.

Sweet Pea sat down and Betty moved to sit next to him. She was expecting a big brother rant of epic proportions at the open and obvious hickeys on her chest.

"Tell me everything," Sweet Pea stressed. His eyes were alight with mischief and Betty had to choke down the scoff that was budding to the surface.

"I can't tell you before I tell Cheryl and Veronica!"

"You mean they don't already know?"

"No, dude it literally happened last night. Don't you think you'd know if it had happened earlier than last night?"

"Wait so you're telling me," he said with a very confused tone, "that last night was the _first_ time you and Jughead had ever had sex? And you've been living together for how many weeks now?"

"We weren't trying to rush things!"

"No, you're just the parents of our group," he retorted.

"How am I your parent and your younger sister?"

"I never said my logic made sense. I just said that it was fact."

Betty burst out laughing and leaned her head on Sweet Pea 's shoulder. She wanted to tell him everything. Well, she wanted to tell someone everything. She didn't really think it was Sweet Pea, but she knew she had to talk to someone.

"Take Jughead with you to get the food instead of Veronica. Then I can talk to them and just have a moment to be the three of us girls because I don't know the last time that happened."

"You got is, Boss Sister," Sweet Pea said, and held out his hand to help Betty up off of the ground. At that moment, Jughead came in to see what was going on and where they had disappeared to.

"I walked into the kitchen and Fangs said you flipped your shit and dragged Betty out of the room," Jughead said. "Is everything okay?"

"Watch your hickey placement, Jones. And let's go. Boss Sister wants us doing homework before we leave to get food. And yes, you're coming with me now."

"I-" Jughead said, but wasn't able to get out much more because Sweet Pea was once again leading Betty out by the hand and into the kitchen where they were met with the rest of their friends, and a full glass of water and ice in Joaquin's left hand. Betty walked up to him and kissed his cheek quickly before grabbing the water and easily integrating herself into the debate they were having about which was better: pork or shrimp dumplings.

Cheryl's choice of veggie had apparently been aggressively voted out by all but Kevin.

Betty, choosing to lead by example, grabbed her books from where her bag was stationed in the hall, and was met with her fluff ball of a puppy who was sitting quietly and patiently by the door.

"Now, whose job was it to keep track of where you were supposed to be, little bean?" She asked Hotdog. She grabbed Jughead's coat off the hook as hers was thrown somewhere in the living room, lifted the puppy into her arms and opened the door to the frigid outside air. 

She placed Hotdog down on the grass by where all of the cars were parked and crouched down so she could be close to his level.

"You know," she whispered and scratched behind his ears, "you're going to bring this already close group so much closer together." Hotdog let out a soft yip of a bark and Betty giggled at his obvious response.

After roaming around outside for about fifteen minutes, playing fetch with random sticks she found and running around like a lunatic, Betty brought herself and Hotdog inside. 

"You guys," she called, "I took the dog out and ran around with him for a bit. He should be good-" but she stopped short. All of her friends were looking at her with various degrees of amused written across their faces. 

"What?" Betty asked.

"Take a shot every time you see a blonde Northside princess running around in a Serpent jacket with a very small dog," said Toni before all eight of them pulled their arms out from behind their backs and downed what Betty knew could only be a shot of tequila.

"Oh fuck all of you," she said, blushing. They laughed and walked past her, most going to the table to get started on work, while the rest went to get Hotdog and put him in the fenced in area that Cheryl had created.

Jughead walked right over to her.

"Do you know what you're doing to me?" He whispered in her ear, and pressed his obvious hard-on against her hip. 

"Oh yes, absolutely," Betty admitted, and skipped away to go sit next to Sweet Pea so she could help him with the calculus quiz that they were going to have at the end of the week.

Five-thirty rolled around and Jughead and Sweet Pea packed up their stuff and headed out to Greendale to go pick up dinner. Jughead shot her a look that Betty knew meant, "milkshake?" She eagerly nodded her head yes and blew him a kiss as he was walking out the door.

"What were nodding about?" Joaquin asked.

"You don't want to know..." Betty replied.

"Well now I have to!"

"He asked me if I wanted a milkshake, so I was nodding in affirmation."

"He..." Joaquin started, "he didn't even say anything."

"I mean he was talking to me, not to you," Betty said simply. Joaquin still looked confused and disgusted so Betty explained, "when you go two whole weeks spending the majority of your time with someone but not talking, it's easy to have conversations without words."

"So you just knew that that look meant 'do you want a milkshake?'" 

"Yes."

"Interesting," Joaquin said, and then chose to drop the subject. A few minutes later, he disturbed Betty's chemistry homework to ask, "can you go over my paper?"

Betty gave him a loving smile and took the computer from him and spent the next forty-five minutes going through his essay for history class. Around six-forty-five, Betty got up and asked if they could clear off before dinner, and that she needed to go find Cheryl and Veronica.

She found them sprawled out across Cheryl's bed, flipping through Netflix movies they had all watched. 

"I take it you guys finished?" Betty said, climbing in and tucking herself under the throw blanket with Veronica. Veronica placed her head on Betty's shoulder and Betty put her head on top of hers. 

"And we take it that the only reason you called this homework session was for the lovely Serpents down there that didn't do their winter break work?" Cheryl asked, not looking up from the TV.

"Bingo," Betty said. The three of them were quiet for only a few more moments before Betty blurted out, "Jughead and I finally had sex for the first time last night!"

It was eerily silent for a solid thirty seconds before both girls starting screaming and squealing at the top of their lungs. Cheryl stood up on the bed and pulled Betty and Veronica up with her. They started jumping on the bed and continued to scream and hug and laugh and Betty realized that the last time it was just the three of them was the night of the margaritas in October and Betty started to cry.

It was happy tears, but tears nonetheless.

"This is the first time it's been just the three of us since margarita night," Betty said to the girls in a verbal response to their silent questioning of her tears.

"Interesting," said Cheryl. It was in the exact way Joaquin had said it not an hour before. Betty burst into another fit of laughter.

"What?" Cheryl asked, looking confusedly at Betty.

"E-earlier ton-night," Betty started but could barely get any of her words out without laughing like a lunatic, "Joaquin a-asked me about mine and J-Jug's way of communicating and when I explained it, he said, 'interesting,' in the exact same way you just did," Betty explained. She barely made it to the end of her sentence before bursting into fits of hysterical laughter. Cheryl and Veronica keeled over as well, and the three of them collapsed into a heap on the bed.

They caught their breaths and calmed down and hugged various parts of the other's bodies, relishing in the quiet moment that the three of them we getting to have before the storm and loudness of family dinner began.

It didn't last very long.

"Honey's, I'm home!" Sweet Pea bellowed from the foyer. Cheryl groaned and threw her head under the pillows. 

"I do not want to eat downstairs," she grumbled. 

"Then let's eat up here," Betty said. "It's not like we have any real rules for family dinner."

"And where is everyone going to fit?"

"The girls can sit on the bed and the boys can sit on the floor," Veronica reasoned.

"And are we going to bring the food in here? Like _all_ of it?"

"No of course not. We'll make plates downstairs and then we can bring them up. We'll even use paper plates so no one has to do dishes," Betty said. Then she paused and continued, "lazy family dinner."

They were all in agreement and we about to get up when Sweet Pea came waltzing in the room.

"Well ladies," he said smoothly, "if you were a party of three, you forgot the-" 

"Sister," said Betty.

"Girlfriend?" Questioned Veronica.

"Gay," Cheryl said lastly. "But we are going to eat in here tonight. I don't feel like sitting at the table."

"But Fangs and Quin already set the table," Sweet Pea whined. "Ugh, whatever. Okay, I'll let them know. I'm also assuming you three don't plan on moving and Jughead, Toni and myself are in charge of getting your food."

"And that, my Sweet," Cheryl said, "is why we call you the fourth smart Serpent in our group." 

Sweet Pea smiled, the insult going over his head completely, and headed down the stairs to let everyone know the new plan. Betty decided that they were going to continue where they left off in New Girl and just watch that for the rest of the night. 

It was funny enough to keep their attention, but they had all seen it at least once, so talking over it wasn't an issue.

"One veggie lo mein, pork dumplings and some form of green vegetable I refuse to touch for the most perfect person on planet earth," Jughead said in one breath as he entered the room and approached the girls on the bed. 

Betty held her hands out and made a "gimme, gimme," motion with her fingers. He held it out of her reach and from somewhere, produced a Pop's cup that had different hearts scribbled on it. Betty looked up at him with star struck eyes and raised a brow at him.

"Yeah," she said in response to his reciprocal brow raise, "I can come grab stuff," and got off the bed.

"Have fun banging!" Cheryl called from the bed as they left the room. Betty rolled her eyes at them, but then sent a wink in their direction and followed a very eager Jughead out of Cheryl's room.

He walked down the hall to where Betty's room was and opened the door for her. She gave him a fake polite, "thank you," and walked in. Not even two seconds after the door shut behind them had Betty jumped on Jughead and wrapped her legs around his waist. He caught her underneath her thighs and pulled her hard against him.

He kissed her hard and hot and heavy and Betty knew from that kiss that they weren't going to make it to the bed and it wasn't going to be slow.

Betty was about to get _fucked._

She loved it.

"You haven't been very nice today," he growled into her ear. "Turning me on in the car and then making me go to the store with Sweet Pea. Not to mention running around looking as fucking delicious as you do in _my_ Serpent jacket," he let go of her and pressed her up against the wall. 

He had one hand on her cheek, keeping her face against the cold wall and the other was unbuckling his belt. He let go of her face and pulled down her leggings, but not before delivering a loud and hard _smack_ to her ass. 

"Aaah," she cried out.

"Oh no, baby," Jughead said. He pulled her ass back so her face and chest were still pressed against the wall, but the rest of her body was out and open and ready for him.

"No, baby you don't get to make any noise," he whispered. "This is my way of punishing you from this afternoon. I'm being so nice by letting you cum, aren't I?" He asked, and Betty felt her knees shake at the question.

"I asked you a question," he growled. 

"Yes, yes you're being so nice to me," she cried. Then in a whisper she said, "I promise to be quiet."

"That's right," he said, stroking her face, "you're such a good girl." He kissed the back of her neck while he hands resumed their movements of pulling down her pants.

"You're just _so_ wet and eager for me?" He asked, but Betty knew it wasn't really a question. She had been ready for round whatever this was since she saw him at the end of the school day, and knew that her panties had been absolutely soaked through.

"Only for you," she whispered and tried to move her eyes back so she could see him. She wanted to lift her head from the wall and actually look, but didn't want him to find another reason to punish her.

Well, maybe a little. But now was not the time.

He pulled her leggings and panties all the way off and then without warning, balled up her drenched panties and gently shoved them in her mouth.

"For when you want to scream," he whispered, and entered her with a hard thrust. Jughead moaned loudly and Betty's legs already started to shake. He wrapped both of his hands on her hips and pressed down hard. Betty wanted to scream at the sensations. 

He had fucked her from behind the night before, but it wasn't like this. The way that he had to move against her in order to keep up a steady rhythm was a whole feelings and she felt like she was whole. He continued a steady pace against her but leaned forward and took one of his hands from her hips and used it to instead pinch and roll her nipple. 

"I changed my mind," Jughead said breathlessly in her ear, "you can't come until I say you can. I know you want to. I can _feel_ how much you want to. But you can't. Not until I say so."

It sounded like it pained him to say, but Betty didn't care, because now she too was lost in the pain and pleasure that being fucked in this position with those orders were giving her.

He crossed his arms and pushed himself somehow further deeper than he already was and Betty moaned around the gag. All of a sudden his thrusts became erratic and he groaned, "cum for me," and they both came undone, Jughead jerkily finishing off on Betty's back and Betty trying her best not to scream and to hold herself up on shaking legs.

Jughead leaned over and pulled her up slowly off the wall. Then he led her to the bed and sat her down. Betty still had the gag in her mouth, and Jughead helped relax her jaw and gently pulled it out.

"Hi," he whispered, and placed a kiss to her very swollen and nerve exposed lips. "I think we need a safe word," he said.

Betty giggled and stood up on her tip toes to place a kiss to his cheek. "What about strawberry?"

"Perfect," he said and slapped her ass playfully. She walked over to her dresser and grabbed a pair of clean underwear and sweatpants. She also put on a hoodie and took her hair out of its ponytail. 

Jughead stood at the front of the room by the door with a smirk on his face. "Ready to face the hyenas?"

"Do you think if I call Boss Lady they'll shut up?"

"Not even a little," Jughead said with a laugh.

* * *

At family dinner that night, Cheryl announced that her _real_ birthday was next Tuesday, and though they were throwing her a huge birthday party, (which, was news to Jughead) she wanted to have a nice family dinner where they dressed up fancy and ate fancy food.

Ugh.

The only thing Cheryl didn't want fancy, however, was her cake.

"Jason's favorite thing in the world was yellow cake from the box with store bought chocolate frosting. And it's supposed to be our eighteenth birthday next week and I know that's what he'd want."

"Well then box cake we will have!" Cried Sweet Pea, and stood up from the floor to walk over to where Cheryl was sitting on the bed. She looked at him skeptically, but he just wrapped her up in one of _his_ hugs and held her until she pulled away.

"Gross, Peanut Butter," Cheryl said. 

But it was said with so much love.

After dinner that night, Jughead's life settled into a pretty wonderful routine. He would wake up next to Betty, and depending on how much time they had, he would have the best morning sex he would ever have in his life and make his girlfriend cum as many times as he possibly could. 

Then they would either make breakfast or get breakfast, again, depending on time. 

Depending on who had the dog, they would take care of the dog and drop it off with the guys who watched him while they were at school.

He would do school, which was incredibly boring, and then by the end of it he would be reunited with Betty and the others. 

But mostly Betty.

He didn't even care how "whipped" he sounded.

He was sitting in their booth at Pop's with the boys waiting for Betty to finish her Sunday afternoon shift at Pop's when Jughead brought up a fair point.

"What the fuck are we getting Red?"

"I already got her something," Joaquin said with a smirk. 

He dodged a hit from Sweet Pea who said, "yeah okay but you don't count. That would be like you guys trying to figure out a gift for Coop and me being like, 'yeah I got her something already.'"

"Your obsession with my girlfriend-" Jughead started to say but Sweet Pea cut him off.

"My _sister,_ " Sweet Pea stressed. "And I'm not obsessed. But that's besides the point. What the hell are we getting Red?"

"I say we all chip in, _yes that includes you too, Quin,_ and get her and Toni a trip to some spa or something. But close to the city, you know? So they can go off and do something together after," Fangs said.

"When did you get so good at gift ideas?" Jughead asked suspiciously. He _really_ didn't want to be stereotypical, but Cheryl's comment about them being in a "thrupple" had really thrown Jughead off.

"Honestly? It was Bethany's idea."

_Ah yes. That makes sense._

"But actually, I did want to talk to you guys about something..." Fangs trailed off.

"What's up, Fangsy?" Sweet Pea asked. 

Fangs shot him a nasty look and said, "when you guys asked me if I loved anyone that night when we were playing truth or dare? And I took I don't know, nine shots instead? Well I think... I think I might like... Reggie?"

The whole table was silent for a bit, unsure of what to say.

"Is he coming to Cheryl's birthday?" Sweet Pea asked, surprising them all.

"Somehow more important," Jughead said sarcastically, "does he know you like him? And then... does he like you?"

"He actually came onto me," Fangs admitted quietly. 

"What?" They all said at the same time. Then again, "when!"

"At school after Cheryl's Halloween party. He saw what went down with Archie and came up to me to apologize. He's actually kind of... nice?"

"Didn't he date Veronica?" Joaquin asked.

"Yep," Fangs said back awkwardly.

"Well I mean if he's changed from automatic to stick..." Sweet Pea started.

"As the _very_ gay man sitting at the table next to you, I am going to ask that you don't finish that analogy if you'd like to keep your dick, Peanut Butter," Joaquin said lowly.

"Right, okay," Jughead said, circling back. "But you said Cheryl's Halloween party. That was like, over three months ago. And you haven't told us?"

"We only recently started talking for real. And according to him, apparently our group is, intimidating?"

"Why? Because somehow three of the kindest and sweetest girls on the face of the planet got four Serpents to go belly-up in one Pop's interaction?" Jughead deadpanned.

"Right. And we also are just always together. It's hard to bring a new person in. I mean, Kevin started dating Quin just before the party and only recently have people taken that seriously," Fangs said.

"Okay but if you were with someone, they wouldn't have to be with us the _whole_ time," Jughead pressed on. He didn't have any objection to Reggie, other than that he was friends with Archie and Jughead was protective of his friends. 

"Jughead," Sweet Pea said quietly from across the table, "you got us a dog. It's all or nothing with the Nasty Nine."

Jughead choked on the french fry he had put into his mouth. "The- what?"

"Nasty Nine! It's the group name that Joaquin and Cheryl gave us. You would have known that if you hadn't been banging Betty before dinner, but I guess there's no time like the present."

"I hate everything you just said. Actually, I just hate you," Jughead grumbled.

" _Anyway,_ it kind of is all or nothing with this group. You can't just 'sort of' date. Plus even if we did, I would never _ever_ hang out with any of his jock friends, and he knows that too," Fangs explained.

"So? Is he cool with hanging with a bunch of Serpents and their Northside counterparts?" Jughead asked.

"I mean Sweet Pea is dating his ex," Joaquin pointed out.

"Sex-ex," Pea said. "They only hooked up for like a summer. Never anything serious."

"Fine!" Fangs semi-shouted. "I'm nervous that if he hangs out with us that he's then going to bolt because let's face it guys, we're really fucking intense."

"Okay," Jughead said calmly, "but if you like him, we like him. It's that simple for us, Fangs. Why don't you ask him to eat lunch with us tomorrow?"

"And fit ten people at a six person table?" Fangs asked darkly.

"Hey," Sweet Pea said, reaching across the table to clap his hand on Fangs's arm, "if you want him there, we'll make it happen."

Fangs smiled a smile that Jughead had never seen and felt an inexplainable urge to make sure that whatever was going on between Reggie and Fangs lasted and was successful.

"Hey Fangs," Joaquin said after a moment, "when did you know you liked guys?" 

"I didn't," Fangs said with a shrug. "I just really like him."

It was made a bigger deal than it needed it be, only they weren't the ones who were over exaggerating. 

In a group chat that excluded Fangs, the other eight came up with how they were going to sit at lunch the following day so everyone could fit, and Cheryl made a note to nonchalantly bring up her birthday dinner in case things were going well and Fangs wanted him to come.

At lunch that Monday, their table had an extra seat at it. Betty was still on Sweet Pea's lap, Cheryl decided to sit on Toni's lap and Jughead sat next to Sweet Pea and Betty on the bench. On the other side of the table where Toni and Cheryl usually sat was left open for Reggie and Fangs. Veronica sat across from Jughead, and Kevin and Joaquin capped off either end of the table with their backwards chairs.

"Reggie, you obviously know Fangs here," Veronica said as she reached in her bag. She pulled out a container of salad and another of dressing. She poured the dressing onto her salad and then capped the container and handed it to Jughead. 

"And you obviously know the other Northsiders," Kevin, Betty and Cheryl smiled at him. "But as for the other Serpents, you have Jughead, who is the one aggressively shaking my salad. He's Betty's boyfriend. Then _underneath_ Betty you have Sweet Pea, who's my boyfriend and _basically_ Betty's brother. Under Cheryl you have Toni. She's the best. She'll kill you. Then next to Fangsey is Joaquin!" Veronica said cheerily and took her salad back from Jughead.

"Why did you get to do the introduction?" Sweet Pea whined. "I was going to give us all cool mafia names."

"We know," they all said at the same time. It made Reggie jump and no one said anything.

"Sometimes we do that," Betty explained to Reggie. 

"Talk all at once?" Reggie asked. He saw that all of them were poised to answer and absently said, "one at a time please." His face turned white as a sheet when he realized that he had basically shut all of them down thirty-seconds into his first interaction with them.

"Ooh, he's going to be _fun_ to have around," Toni said with a smile. The whole table burst into laughter at the entire situation, and faster than any of them had anticipated, Reggie settled into their lunchtime routine.

"So let me get this straight," Reggie said. "Betty sitting on Veronica's boyfriends lap?"

"Yep," Jughead said and stole a fry from across Sweet Pea and Betty and from Cheryl's stash. 

"Why?" Reggie asked. 

They all looked around a bit quizzically and then Jughead said, "we don't... know. There just wasn't enough space and Betty and I weren't talking, so she sat on Sweet Pea."

"Actually," Betty said, swallowing her sip of water, "we weren't talking, so I sat on Sweet Pea to get a reaction from you. But now we're here. And I can't move."

"You sat on your best friend's boyfriend's lap to make your boyfriend jealous and now you can't move?" Reggie clarified.

"No one was anyone's person back then," Veronica said, adopting Betty's phrase. "But if you put it into now terms... then yes. That's exactly what happened."

Much like with Ethel the week before, talking to someone outside of their group about the ways in which their group worked shone a light on how fucking weird they were.

Like the fact that nine (now maybe ten) people spent many nights in a tiny one-bedroom apartment above a bar when they had a mansion to hang out in. 

Or the entire Sweet Pea-Betty dynamic.

Or the fact that Jughead bought them a dog.

It became very clear that nothing was ever thought through in their group.

"Anyway, Reggie," Cheryl said. She was reaching over Sweet Pea's head and feeding Jughead French fries, "it's my eighteenth birthday tomorrow. And I know you were on the team with Jason, and if you wanted to come for dinner, you're more than welcome to!"

"Dinner is going to be catered from one of the most expensive and fancy caterers that Cheryl and Veronica could find from the city, and dessert is going to be box cake that Joaquin is going to "make," but really it's going to be Betty," Kevin explained.

"Yeah and we're re-doing New Year's," Toni said.

"I have no context," Reggie deadpanned.

"Cheryl decided we were going to get all dressed up for New Year's and hang out in the house but at the last minute she didn't want to get out of her sweats."

"So... I'm showing up in a tux?" Reggie asked.

"Yes but no shoes," Jughead said. "We can't wear shoes inside Thornhill."

"But what happens when you throw a huge party?" Reggie asked again.

"Oh yeah! We're having a party this weekend too. Jughead's throwing it," Joaquin said.

"I'm still unaware of when I volunteered for this. Betty?" He asked the beautiful girl who had been mostly quiet during lunch.

"Jughead is not throwing the party," Betty said. "He is paying for the party."

"What! Since when!?"

"It's your birthday present to Cher. Really it's just the alcohol. I already placed an order for a few extra cases of things the last time you put one in."

"What?" 

"Jughead," Toni said, "she went into the office and doubled the numbers of some of our best selling liquor so we could have both a surplus for the bar and some for Cheryl's party."

Reggie looked at Jughead with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah," Jughead huffed, "I own a bar. And I live above it, _we_ live above it," he said and motioned to all of them. 

"Has..." Reggie started, "has anyone ever told you that you guys are really very strange?" 

"Honestly," Fangs said, speaking for the first time, "it's refreshing, but you're the first one."

Unbeknownst to them all, a certain angry, jealous red-head was fuming across the cafeteria at his "so called" friend sitting at a table full of snakes.

At Cheryl's the next night, all of the boys, which now included Reggie, but excluded Kevin, were hanging gold and red balloons and streamers around Cheryl's dining room. Kevin was getting ready with the girls upstairs as apparently he was the only one who knew how to do Betty's hair correctly.

"Thanks for being cool about my being here," Reggie said to Jughead. They were taking care of making a gold balloon throne on the back of Cheryl's chair.

"Thank you for being cool about how _not_ cool we are," Jughead said in response.

"You guys don't even realize it," Reggie said. "But somehow that first day when Betty slapped Sweet Pea, she changed, which made Cheryl and Veronica change. And all of it was good. But it was so different that instead of you guys being people, you became things that we all looked at and wished we were able to be."

Jughead sort of understood what he meant. It was like the Serpents but with girls and gays from the Northside. Completely in their own world and unattainable.

"You know," Jughead said, "don't tell Fangs I'm saying this, because he really could kill me, but it means a lot to him that you're here."

"He'll kill you?"

"So not the point, dude."

"Right," Reggie said. "I'm glad I'm here. Since we started talking, I've always wanted to know what it was like in here."

"At Thornhill?"

"No, in your like, shared hive mind."

Right.

They finished tying the balloons to the chair in silence and Jughead went through all of the times that his little family changed his life. They were the most loving and least judgmental people he had ever met. Things were done no questions asked. They lived and breathed and existed as a unit and Jughead wondered when he became so dependent on them.

They depended on him too.

The best thing that came from their group was his relationship with Betty, which was only getting better the more and more sex they had. Their silent communication and magnetic movements were annoying before, but their current connection was downright insufferable. 

He could read her mind now, and Jughead was sure that she could read his. There was no longer a need for verbal responses to things, or questions asked to begin with. Things were just done or known and there was no longer any real need for unnecessary discussion.

It meant that they could have conversations about their fears about the next year, and what was going to happen with school and moving and who was staying where and for how long. It meant that they could talk about the fact that Jughead had to go see his dad in order to get answers to some of his questions. It meant that they could have conversations about Alice and could learn more about each other and the ways that their childhoods were the same.

He had made it a point the week after they brought Hotdog home to say "until then, Betty Cooper," after each class, even if they didn't have the class together. An homage to where it all began.

Their group of two in the parking lot of Pop's expanded to include seven other beautiful people, some that Jughead had known his whole life, and others he met while they were attacking his friends. Each became a bit more complete with another. With such a large group of friends, coupling off was inevitable, but the way they were all so close to each other in different ways was what was really so unique about them.

In retrospect, he could see how they could be intimidating.

Introducing Reggie to the group wasn't a variable that Jughead had factored in, and the walls he kept around his friends went up ten-fold. But the look of pure happiness in Fangs's eyes when he talked about him made Jughead recalibrate his initial "what the fucking fuck," reaction.

If anyone deserved love, it was Fangs. And if anyone was as close to protected in their group as Betty was, it was Fangs. So Fangs opening up about him and Reggie was something to be taken seriously. 

Which is how Reggie ended up in a suit and bare feet tying gold Mylar balloons to a very large dining room chair.

Around seven-thirty, Kevin came jogging down the stairs and announced, "Princesses Betty, Veronica and Toni!" Already fairly tipsy the three girls came walking down the grand staircase in the middle of the foyer. Toni was wearing some strapless and short pink dress that almost perfectly matched her hair. It was covered in black lace and looked exactly like what Toni was if she were a dress.

Veronica was wearing a light grey short sleeve dress that went all the way to the ground and had different black, blue and pink sequins all over it and the bottom was tiered and had small ruffles. In getting to know Veronica, Jughead learned she was a lot softer than she put out to the world, so the very obviously expensive and girly dress was very her.

He saved Betty for last, because he knew that he would need all the strength he had in him just to look at her. For all she waxed poetic about hating florals and girly clothing, she sure looked breathtaking in them. Her dress was lilac and long sleeved and went all the way to the floor. It had pink roses and purple irises embroidered into the skirt and the top. 

The back was his favorite, because it just wasn't there. Which meant Betty wasn't wearing a bra. Which was just as exciting of a thought as the first time he ever realized she wasn't wearing a bra. 

Her hair was half-up and half-down. The part that was half down was in cascading waves, and the part that was up was in a bun that somehow _looked_ like a rose.

"I don't do hair," Reggie whispered to no one in particular, and Sweet Pea, Joaquin, Fangs and Jughead all snorted in laughter. 

The girls moved over to the side of the staircase so they could watch as Cheryl walked down. Cheryl was, by anyone's terms, dressed as Cheryl. She had on a short cherry-red high necked dress that had long sleeves. While everyone else's dresses resembled some sort of soft fairytale feeling, Cheryl's did not.

Her dress was covered in sequins and glimmering fringe and Jughead wondered if she grabbed it from the back of her mother's closet as it looks incredibly expensive and suspiciously vintage.

"And here is out birthday queen, Ms. Cheryl Blossom!" Kevin called out, and the rest of them broke out into whoops and cheers. For the whole day they were trying to treat Cheryl with as much fanfare as possible. 

No one could imagine what she was going through.

When she finally got down the stairs, bare feet and all, everyone glommed together into one large group of people hugging and out of the corner of Jughead's eye he saw Sweet Pea pull Reggie into a hug and thus, deeper into the circle.

"You look perfect," Jughead whispered into Betty's ear when she came over to hug him. He lightly drummed his fingers on her open back and said, "this is perfect too."

"Don't get any ideas, Fabio," she said quietly. "You guys can all stay here if you want but it's just the OG three having a slumber party tonight."

"So I couldn't even convince you of a quickie later?" He asked with a pout.

"Nope," she said, popping the 'p,' "we all took a vow of celibacy for the night."

"Only because it's Cheryl's birthday," he grumbled. Then he placed a searing kiss on Betty's lips and dipped her low.

"It's _my_ birthday!" They heard Cheryl yell. "And all I want to do is eat some of this amazing smelling food!" Betty and Jughead righted themselves and he heard Cheryl call "ayo Beanie Boy-" 

"You don-"

"Betty said it was okay just for today!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Betty!" They yelled at the same time.

"Ah! No, Cheryl. Just call him Boss Man. You were supposed to get it out fast enough for him not to be able to object."

"Wait you signed off on this?" Jughead asked.

"Yes! But only because she said couples could sit next to each other _unlike_ at Thanksgiving."

"Just take off the fucking hat, dude," Joaquin yelled. "That's all she wants."

"Well why didn't she just say so?" Jughead yelled back, but took the hat off and placed it in his back pocket.

"She tried!" Joaquin yelled again.

"There's so much going on," Reggie whispered from somewhere in the room.

"Oh my fucking god-" Cheryl started

"That Jughead doesn't believe in," everyone but Reggie said along with her.

"Can we eat? And be civil? Please?"Cheryl finished. Each person stayed quiet and nodded, and they all walked over to the table. Cheryl sat at the head of the table in her balloon throne, with Toni to her right, and Joaquin to her left. Fangs and Reggie were on the right side of the table and Kevin, Veronica and Sweet Pea were on the left. Jughead was at the other head of the table and Betty was to his left. 

A group of cater-waiters walked around and poured everyone glasses of champagne and Jughead raised a glass.

"To Red. The only person at this table scarier than Betty. And the only other person I'll share my fries with. Happy Birthday, and don't tell anyone, but I love you."

To Red!" They all cheered and clinked glasses. Jughead winked at Cheryl very indiscreetly wiped away a tear and blew him a kiss.

When the food was served, Jughead didn't even know that he was eating, he just knew it was _so fucking good._ He would never again complain when Cheryl wanted to get food from somewhere other than a Chinese or pizza place if _this_ was her taste. 

Sweet Pea tried to be slick and reach for one of the bacon wrapped scallops on Jughead's plate, but Jughead grabbed his wrist before he got to far.

"Drop the scallop," he said.

"Ow, dude. Let go of my wrist!"

"Drop the scallop!"

"Let go," Sweet Pea said forcefully wrapping his hand from Jughead's grasp. Except in doing so he flung the scallop across the table where it hit Fangs directly in the chest.

Without thinking, Fangs threw it back towards Sweet Pea, except it slipped from his fingers and hit Veronica in the cheek instead. 

Which caused Sweet Pea to consciously throw one of the calamari that were left over from their appetizers back at Fangs. Fangs picked up a handful of rice from _Reggie's_ plate and definitely without thinking, threw it in the direction of Sweet Pea.

It hit everyone on that side of the table.

Cheryl pushed back her chair and screamed, running to hide behind Toni, who was now also throwing calamari at the people across the table. Veronica started yelling in Spanish and Betty stood up on her chair and tried to get everyone's attention and get them to calm down.

Jughead continued to sit and eat his scallops through the chaos. 

That was until a not so innocent blonde dumped an entire pitcher of margaritas on his head and yelled, "ENOUGH!"

They froze, and looked up at her. She had moved to stand on the table now, and if Jughead could actually see, and everyone was staring at her. 

"It's Cherry's birthday, and I had to resort to dumping margaritas on Jughead's head because you all started throwing the _very expensive_ dinner! Now. Everyone is going to sit back down, say sorry to Cheryl, and continue eating nicely!"

"Betty I am _covered_ in alcohol and sugar," Jughead reasoned. Betty glared at him and said, "that sounds like a personal problem. You couldn't just let Sweet Pea have the fucking scallop? Really?"

"This is my fault?" Jughead asked incredulously.

"You started it!" She retorted, still standing on top of the table.

"You _literally_ ended it by making even more of a mess," Jughead reasoned. 

"Mom and Dad are fighting again," Fangs whispered with an elbow to Reggie's side.

"Jughead go change, Betty get down," Joaquin said. "And don't call Boss Man or Lady it's a birthday party and we just had a food fight."

"Actually," Cheryl said, "can we _all_ go change and eat cake in my room again? Dresses are fun but I am _full._ "

"The queen as spoken," Kevin said, and they all pushed their chairs our from the table. Reggie helped Betty off the table and she stood next to Jughead who was still dripping in margaritas. 

They could feel and hear their friends leaving the dining room, but kept staring at each other.

"You started a food fight," Betty said and stepped closer to him.

"You dumped a _pitcher_ of margaritas on my head," Jughead stressed.

"I needed to make a point."

"You could have just yelled."

"That didn't seem dramatic enough."

"Oooh, Betty Cooper if you hadn't taken a vow of fucking celibacy tonight, I'd take you with me right now," he said. 

"Go take your shower and then I'll convince Cheryl it's okay for you to get in bed and we can cuddle."

"You promise?" He asked with sincere and genuine hope.

"I promise."

"Well," he said and stepped away. He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. 

"Until then, Betty Cooper."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> For those following along on tumblr, last night I had the idea to add Reggie into the mix. He was going to come in in a different way later in the story but I like this a lot more and am already so excited for what's to come.
> 
> Archie reference but will be brought back in (as you can probably imagine).
> 
> Anywhoooo come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	17. Make It Last Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She placed her arms under the collar of his jacket, and helped ease it off of his arms. Then she bent down and untied the laces of his heavy boots. He slipped out of the jacket and stepped out of the boots.
> 
> He stepped closer to her and gently pulled her hair from its too tight ponytail and massaged her scalp. She moaned happily and leaned her head against his hand. Then he removed his hands and leaned down to unlace _her_ boots and helped her step out of them.
> 
> She unbuttoned his flannel and pulled it off of him, slipped his suspenders off of his shoulders and untucked his black t-shirt.
> 
> He pulled off the oversized black sweatshirt that was no doubt Sweet Pea’s from her small frame and tossed it gently to the side. 
> 
> She started to tug off her leggings as he ripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. He pushed them off of his legs, and then stood up straight.
> 
> She was so perfect. She was standing there in a pair of black cotton underwear and a matching bra and the harshness of the soft black against the soft glow of her skin made him want to cry...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey babies!!  
> Thank you for giving me that lil week hiatus. I needed to get that deadline over with and now that I have... I give you fluff and angst and humor and avocado toast.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta'd, so all mistakes are mine.

_Love Songs — Kaash Paige_

The week after Cheryl’s birthday, Betty was laying in Jughead’s bed before school when something very important popped into her head.

She sat straight up, wrapped the entire comforter around her and walked out into the kitchen where Jughead was making coffee.

“What’s up, babe?” he asked and handed her a mug of steaming coffee. He wasn’t at all phased by her sitting on the kitchen stool wearing nothing but their comforter, and smiled sweetly at him.

“You said there were five,” she blurted out.

“Five what?” he asked.

“Five _names,_ ” she stressed.

“Betty Cooper you’re going to have to be a bit more specific.”

“Beanie Boy, Jughead, and then there were two more.”

“Beanie Boy is one name,” he said, but didn’t meet her eyes.

“That’s what I said too, but you corrected me and said that since it was two words they each counted as a name.”

“Fuck you and your photographic memory,” he mumbled into his cup.

“Yeah, yeah, fuck you too,” she retorted and brought her cup to her lips. “So… are you going to tell me?”

“Do I have a choice?”

She raised an eyebrow at him and he sighed deeply. He placed his coffee on the counter and took her mug from her hands and placed it next to his. He stood up and wrapped himself behind her.

“Forsythe,” he whispered, and kissed just under her ear lobe. He moved to the other side of her face and kissed the same spot and said, “Pendleton.” He twisted her around so he was facing her. “Jones, the third,” he whispered at last and kissed her softly on the lips. 

She allowed herself to get lost in the delicacy of it before pulling back and asking, “your name is Forsythe Pendleton Jones the third and you go by _Jughead?_ ”

“Yes,” he said sincerely.

“Why?”

“Why do you go by Betty instead of ‘Liz,’ or ‘Lizzie?’” he retorted.

“Because my mother hated me and wanted to live as a 1950s step ford wife,” Betty said simply. “Your turn.”

“Shit,” he exhaled, running his hands through his very messy, very slept in black curls. “Fine. When I was little, my dad used to make me hang out at the Wyrm with him while he was working. At one point it was getting really late and he was still at the bar drinking, so I grabbed the first thing I could find, which happened to be a handle of Vodka, and curled up on the couch with it. His friends found me, and told my dad that he had a ‘Jug Head’ for a son, and the name sort of… stuck.” 

Betty was trying so hard to not burst into fits of uncontrollable laughter, so instead she kissed him. She figured he could tell that she wanted to laugh at him, because he picked both her and the comforter up and carried them back to their room.

They were both late that day. 

When they got to school, they met up with Fangs, Sweet Pea and Reggie and Reggie’s locker. Betty detangled herself from Jughead to give the three boys a hug, and Jughead “bro” hugged everyone except for Sweet Pea, who he slapped in the face.

They were talking about the movie night they had planned for after school when Chuck walked over to them.

”Jesus fucking Christ,” Sweet Pea groaned, “it’s not even eight in the morning,” and pulled out his brass knuckles, sliding his fingers into them easily.

“What’s up Clayton,” Jughead said from behind Betty, “got more drugs to peddle?”

Chuck said nothing and turned to Reggie. “Looks like you run with the snakes now, huh?” He took a step closer to Reggie and Sweet Pea and Jughead moved in as well, both shoving Betty out of view. 

“Which lady snake did you have to bang in order to get a spot with the coveted teen Serpents and their Serpent sluts?”

Betty knew that one of two things was going to happen: Sweet Pea was gonna swing, or Jughead was going to swing first, and there was no in between.

Or so she thought.

“Fangs,” Reggie said simply, and casually leaned against the boy in question. “And he’s fucking fantastic. He does the thing with his _tongue,_ ” and trailed off at the look of complete shock on Chuck’s face. From what Betty knew about Chuck, is he really didn’t like to be proven wrong and made to look a fool in front of others. 

So being made to look a fool in front of the Serpents by making fun of a gay Serpent in front of a big ass guy itching to bash his face in probably didn’t sit too well with him.

“I coulda gone without knowing that, Reg,” Jughead said. He had taken a step back and now had his arm protectively around Betty, not wanting her to get involved in the dick measuring contest that was no doubt about to break out between Chuck and Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea might even be persuaded to _actually_ take his out.

“Is there a problem?” Cheryl asked, walking up to them. She stood next to Reggie and directly in front of Chuck, raising one perfectly plucked eyebrow at the now nervous looking football player. 

Chuck threw his hands up as the rest of their group came into view. What once started as a group of three best friends, five Serpents, a Sheriff’s son and a football player, was now a formidable and un-fuck-with-able force to be reckoned with.

The night of Cheryl’s party, after they had all changed into comfortable and not covered in food clothes, the group spent the rest of the night laying on her huge bed watching movies. The ten of them on one bed was absolutely ridiculous, but Betty wouldn’t trade the ache in her knee after Sweet Pea crushed it for anything in the world. 

While they were watching _Another Cinderella Story,_ Cheryl’s pick, of course, Sweet Pea asked asked them all a question.

“Who do you think the scariest person in our group is?” 

Without any doubt or hesitation in any of their minds (save for Reggie, since he just got there and had yet to seen them all in action), they all said, “Cheryl.”

She sat up slightly and flipped her hair over her shoulder in an obvious “thank you” sort of way. Then Sweet Pea said, “fine. But am I at least the second scariest?”

“Sure, honey,” Veronica said, causing everyone to laugh. 

Sweet Pea pouted and Betty pointed out, “it’s not you. It’s not even Jug, its Quin.” There was silence for a moment before Betty realized she had to elaborate. “You’re scary Pea, don’t get my wrong. But Cheryl is _nuts_ and _will_ kill you with absolutely no remorse if she thinks you deserve it. Then it’s Quin, because he’s unsuspecting and everyone can see the knife he keeps in his boot, even if he thinks it’s hidden.

“You and Jug are scary because you _look_ scary. No one is going to try and fuck with you guys, and everyone who has tried has ended up looking wildly foolish. 

“Fangs is that person in the scary movies who stands totally still and silent, but is the first to release the safety on his gun.” 

“And me?” Toni asked.

“Well, you’re in love with Cheryl, a bartender, a very small human being, and can beat Pea in an arm wrestling match. You’re fucking terrifying.”

Betty took a deep breath and looked around. Everyone was staring at her with various looks of awe. 

“What?” she asked.

“And you, Betty Cooper, are the glue that holds this mosh pit of a family together,” Veronica said with a whisper, and reached across her boyfriend to squeeze Betty’s knee.

“But let’s not forget, Coop,” Sweet Pea started, “you’re the girl who can break up any fight or, hold back any fight from beginning with one look.”

There were murmurs of agreement across the bed and Betty looked down, turning the color of a tomato. She chanced a glance at Reggie and Fangs and saw that Reggie was absentmindedly playing with Fangs’s fingers and watching the rest of them talk with a soft smile on his face. Every now and then he would kiss part of Fangs’s face and Betty felt her whole body filling with a happiness she didn’t realize she had reserved for him.

Betty often realized that it must have been hard to be the only single friend in a group full of couples. It wasn’t like they were always coupled up, but for the most part they were. 

So when Fangs told them about Reggie and brought him to lunch that day and had everyone laughing over his dry humor, Betty started to feel the initial happiness of her best friend falling in love.

Because Betty would go to the mat for Fangs, she really would. Honestly, she would go to the mat for all of them, but her undeniable need to make sure her best friend stayed happy is what found her stepping directly in front of Chuck as he asked, “since when did you start liking guys?”

Betty, who had to crane her head back in order to see Chuck from the angle that she was at opened her mouth to tell him off when Reggie shocked them all.

“I don’t,” he said simply.

“What?” everyone asked, including Chuck. Betty spun around so her back was to Chuck and she was staring directly at Reggie. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the confusion on Fangs’s face and was twelve seconds away from asking Sweet Pea to hand over his weapon of choice.

“Yeah, no. I don’t like guys. I like Fangs, and Fangs alone. I’m not sure where I fall on the ‘spectrum of sexuality’ or whatever you want to call it. But I know that I _really, really, really_ fucking like Fangs. Not guys. Fangs,” Reggie said confidently, if not a bit rushed, realizing that a ton of people were about to beat the shit out of him.

“Ugh that was so sweet I might puke,” Sweet Pea said, but took a step back from Reggie. Fangs also backed away from the situation to hide next to Joaquin as he had turned a very obvious shade of pink.

“It’s time for you to go now,” Betty said. Chuck looked like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it. He walked away from them all and Betty let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding.

“It’s not even eight in the morning,” Cheryl groaned while handing a coffee to Betty, “why do the hyper-hetero hyper-masculine try to attack before I’ve had my coffee?”

“Because they know that’s the only way to level the playing field,” Toni said, and kissed Cheryl on the cheek. 

Betty smiled at them and went to stand next to Reggie and Fangs. “You boys good?” she asked.

Fangs gave her a grin and said, “absolutely Boss Lady.”

Betty rolled her eyes and turned to Reggie. Before she got a chance to say anything, Reggie asked, “can we start some rumors?”

“This seems like the worst idea ever,” Sweet Pea said from behind Betty, butting into their conversation. “I’m in!”

“No one asked you to be,” Reggie said softly, making him laugh, and from there, the four of them hatched a plan.

Nobody had really gotten over Archie punching Jughead, and with the new buzz that Reggie had joined their group, they all wanted to have fun with it. At lunch that day, Reggie walked in with his arms linked with Veronica. Betty took her usual seat on Sweet Pea’s lap, but this time, instead of putting her feet on Jughead’s lap, Jughead sulked in the corner next to Fangs while Reggie sat next to her. 

They could hear the whispers through the caeteria, that Reggie started having sex with Veronica _and_ Betty, so Jughead broke up with Betty so her, Veronica, Reggie and Sweet Pea could be in a polyamorous relationship.

It was _amazing._

They were all snickering in their little world over the fact that Archie’s face and hair were now the same shade of red, and there was literal smoke coming out of his ears.

They knew they needed to end things quickly and go back to their regularly scheduled “please yes stare at us we know we’re loud and beautiful” ways. So to do so, Reggie stood on the table, yelled out a loud and long, “yo,” to get everyone’s attention.

Then he jumped off the table and leaned down so he could kiss Fangs long and hard in front of everyone. 

It was like a movie, except the only cheers of excitement were from the eight people sitting with them who had seen them kiss a thousand times. Everyone else looked on with disgust because all around popular boy, Reggie Mantle, was making out with silent and scary Fangs Fogarty at the Serpent’s table, and no one knew what to do.

Betty was sitting in the passenger seat of Jughead’s Jeep as the two of them drove silently towards Riverdale County Correctional Center. Jughead had finally accepted that he had to go visit his dad after the lawyer called and said it would be better for FP if some of the visitors on the visitor’s log were related to him, and not just former gang members.

They decided to ditch last period and drive over. Betty knew that it would only take them an hour or so to actually get to the jail, but had no idea how long it was going to take to get Jughead out of the car and in through the front door.

As they were approaching the jail’s highway exit, Jughead spoke up for the first time in about an hour. “You should probably take off all metal, all jewelry, anything that could be sharp and all of that off now,” he said quietly. Betty reached over and squeezed his hand and he interlaced his fingers in hers. He brought them up to his lips and Betty felt, rather than heard, him whisper “I love you,” against her knuckles.

She could only imagine how hard this was for him. She knew if she had the opportunity to see her dad again, she’d want to speak her whole mind. To puff out her chest and roar out her feelings like an angry lion. 

But her dad was dead. And even if he wasn’t, she still would have never gathered the courage to tell him how she really felt. 

So she could only imagine how hard this was for Jughead.

Upon their arrival, they had to pull out their IDs and state the reason for their visit before they crawled slowly through the barbed wire gates and into the parking lot. They jumped out of the car and Betty met Jughead on his side.

“Wait,” he breathed out shallowly, and grabbed her. She folded herself into his arms and traced small and soothing circles on his tense muscles. 

“We don't have to do this,” she mumbled into his chest. She felt him shake her head on the top of hers, and slowly pulled back. She leaned up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. What started out as chaste and gentle turned to ferocious and needy and Betty had to physically untangle herself from him when she unstuck herself from him.

“We do have to do this,” she repeated sternly. But Jughead just shook his head and muttered something like “I need a fucking cigarette,” and pulled her towards the front doors of where the visitors could go in.

Betty didn’t remember going into the jail. She didn’t remember taking off her shoes and dropping her keys and going through metal detector upon metal detector. But she remembered how stepping inside made her feel like she would never be happy again, and felt a small twinge of guilt that she was glad her dad was dead and not in a place like this.

When they got to the visitors center, Betty and Jughead sat down. A guard told them that FP was allowed to touch them, but only if they chose to allow it. They also said that all one of them had to do was lift an arm, and a guard would come over to bring FP back to his cell. 

In short, they were in charge. Jughead was in charge. He could control the situation and Betty could see that that little assurance made his shoulders relax a fraction of an inch.

They sat down at a cold circular table, much like the ones that they had at the cafeteria at school, when a man that was so clearly Jughead’s father was walked out. He had his hands in cuffs at the front of his body and his skin looked sullen and sunken and grey but Betty could still tell that at one point he was wildly handsome. 

Betty felt Jughead tense all over again as the man broke out into an ear splitting smile. The guard led him over to where they were sitting and unlocked his cuffs. 

“One hour,” was all the guard said, before walking away and becoming a statue in a long line of other statue guards.

“Boy,” FP said with that same smile. He looked like he was about to cry, but the look on Jughead’s face stopped him short. Betty chanced a glance out of the corner of her eye at him and he had turned to stone. The Jughead who held a gun to Dorian’s head was back, but Betty thought that this time he might pull the trigger.

“FP,” Jughead said back tersely. “This is my girlfriend, Betty Cooper.”

Betty, being who she was, extended her hand for FP to shake. She had to work hard to not flinch at the way his rough hands scraped against her scared palms. 

“Hi Mr. Jones, I’m Betty. I’m glad to meet you,” she said politely, not wanting to be rude to a man in jail, but needing to make sure Jughead knew she was on his side.

“Please call me FP, hun,” he said back. 

Betty’s smile halfway reached her eyes when Jughead hissed, “she’ll call you whatever the fuck she wants. And don’t call her hun.”

The look of shock and sadness that washed over FP’s face was enough to soften Betty’s demeanor ten-fold, but not Jughead’s.

“Do you know what you being in here has done to me?” Jughead asked. He kept his voice low, for what purposes, Betty didn’t know. It could have been that he didn’t want other people to hear, or to cause a scene and be asked to leave. But Betty figured that really, he was so angry that all of his energy went into trying not to explode, and what was left was a whisper.

“I’m the youngest gang leader in the history of the Serpents. I still go to high school. I have to make sure my guys aren’t getting arrested. I have to write papers to maintain my GPA. I have to figure out what I’m going to do with the Serpents when I graduate high school. I have to figure out what I’m going to do with _me_ when I get out of high school.” Jughead said the last part in a whisper, and Betty saw the corner of his left lip twitch upward, and she knew that meant he was trying not to cry.

“What do you mean?” FP asked, looking genuinely confused.

“We’re not fucking sticking around when high school is over,” Jughead said, his voice growing slightly louder. “Me, Sweets, Toni, Fangs and Quin. We’re all getting the fuck out of here the day after we graduate.”

This didn’t seem to please FP at all. “Who’s going to run the Serpents then?”

Betty was also confused. She knew that high school was coming to a close, and that none of them had really talked about what was going to happen once they walked across that stage, but leaving the Serpents? Jughead was really going to do that?

“We’re figuring that out,” Jughead said in a tone that meant it was the end of the discussion. 

FP also seemed to gather that there was no more room for discussion, because he dropped the subject. 

“Okay,” FP said slowly, realizing that trying to talk to Jughead was officially a lost cause. He moved his attention to Betty and asked, “how’d you and Jug meet?”

“Oh, well I work at Pop’s and he came in with Pea, Quin and Fangs one day, and I guess we just started talking from there.”

FP’s eyebrows rose when Betty said, “Pea, Quin and Fangs.” It was most likely due to her nonchalant way of saying their names, but he asked, “So you know those boys pretty well then?”

“Yes sir. We all go to school together.”

Betty realized a bit too late that she had said something wrong.

“What?” she asked, but was drowned out by FP.

“You go to Northside now?” he asked.

“What’s it to you? You gave up your paternal rights when they put you in the back of the squad car.”

“Look, Jughead. I know you’re mad at me for what happened, but do you have to be so fucking rude?”

“Don’t fucking swear in front of Betty,” Jughead growled. “And I have _every_ to be mad or rude or yell or punch you among other things because your actions have forced me into some shady shit and I am done pretending that any of it was okay.”

They sat in tense silence for the next few minutes before Jughead spoke up again.

“Your lawyer says you only have about a year or so before they’ll let you out on good behavior. And you won’t be able to move back to the Southside either, so you should start thinking about that now.” Jughead wiped his hands on his jeans and started to stand up. They hadn’t been there more than a half an hour, but Betty could tell it was time to go.

“The only reason we’re here is because I owe someone a favor. That’s it.” He grabbed Betty’s hand and sent a wave over to a guard, who came to their table to take FP back to his cell. 

“Really, Jughead?” FP questioned. His tone was apologetic and wanting, but his eyes were hard and pushed into small and angry slits.

“See you, FP,” Jughead said, and tipped his beanie in the direction of his father.

They walked out of the jail and back over to the Jeep. As always, Jughead opened Betty’s door and waited until she was buckled in before closing the door. Then he walked around to the drivers side and got in. 

He turned on the car and handed Betty the AUX. She put on a song that had been stuck in her head, and let the soothing synths engulf them as they drove back towards Riverdale. 

Right after they took the exit off the highway for the Southside, Jughead pulled over and cut the engine. He sat with his hands in his lap and stared at the rapidly darkening sky around them, and started to cry. 

At first it was just small tears building at the corners of his eyes and betraying his “scary” facade by falling down his face. He didn’t even try to wipe them away as they soon started to come faster and faster, and a strangled cry left his lips. 

Betty threw off her seatbelt faster than she thought possible, flung open her door and ran to his side of the car. His door was still locked so she slapped the glass loudly until he unlocked it. She practically tore the door off of the Jeep trying to get it open, and climbed into his lap as fast as she could.

* * *

In most situations, Jughead would welcome Betty sitting on his lap in the front of his car, even if it _was_ cramped.

Except in this moment he was mourning the loss of his very alive father and wishing he had never opened up his heart to hoping that things wouldn’t have changed. That the love that he always felt for his dad would still be there, because, he was his dad.

But no, things had changed.

Walking into the jail and feeling the cold feeling of despair and all hope abandoned, envelope him, he knew that there was no way anything was going to be the same. Seeing his dad smiling an all too sugary and all to disingenuous smile, Jughead knew that he was at his father’s funeral.

There was nothing good about sitting there and hearing him talk to Betty and pretend to be the present father that he never was.There was nothing good about the way he looked at Betty in general. There was nothing good about feeling his disappointment in respects to Jughead not wanting to run the gang after high school.

There was nothing good at all.

So he was sitting on the side of the highway listening to a song that Betty had been humming all week and crying over everything that had happened between him and his dad. Jughead didn’t cry was he was first arrested. He didn’t cry when he had to move out of the trailer. He didn’t cry when he became leader of the gang. 

No, he cried when he saw his father in an orange jumpsuit being led over by an armed guard.

He wasn’t embarrassed about crying either, because he was with Betty. She was sitting on his lap with her feet hanging out side of the open door, and had her forehead pressed against his. She wasn’t trying to wipe his tears or brush his hair. She had both hands on the sides of his face and just help him there until his breathing steadied and he could tip his head back to look at her.

They stared at one another until Jughead lifted his face up so he could kiss her, and kiss her hard. 

When they finally pulled apart, Jughead said darkly, “welcome to my father’s funeral.”

“Oh, I’m good at these,” Betty said with a smile, and lightly kissed the tip of his nose. “What happens next is lots of booze and greasy food and you don’t have to go to school for a week.”

“That’s what you did after your dad’s funeral?”

“Oh yeah. I was so drunk the whole time that even Cheryl and Veronica were worried. It the first time we had margaritas, actually,” she said with pride.

“Ugh,” Jughead loudly. “If I never have another one of those again…”

“You’ll have to have one at our wedd—nesday movie night! Yep. We’re having a movie night on Wednesday,” Betty said with extreme awkwardness.

“Betty Cooper,” Jughead stressed lightly, “were you about to say _wedding?_ ”

Betty kept her head down and Jughead felt a delicious sense of love and delight spread through him. 

“Wanna a know a secret?” he asked. She nodded. “You can have however many margaritas at our wedding if it means I don’t ever have to drink them again. Sound like a plan?”

“Starting when?” she asked. She tried to be cool and cloying about it, but in reality, she just sounded excited, which caused Jughead’s insides to turn to jelly again.

“Now,” he whispered. 

Jughead was impressed that he was able to get back to Cheryl’s without fucking Betty against the hood of his car. It had been one of those days where if he had tried, he wouldn’t have been able to finish and then Betty would feel bad and then he would feel bad and even though they’d been through hell and back together and apart, they still felt sort of awkward around sex.

Because as much as he would like to forget it, he really was just a teenager.

A teenager with a gang to run and a family of fucking ten, but a teenager nonetheless.

It was around seven-thirty when they walked through the front doors of Thornhill with bags of take-out Italian food for everyone who was already at the house. 

Because apparently, everyone was there.

It was Thursday, which didn’t mean anything except that someone decided that that day were all going to have movie night at Cheryl’s house. They were inseparable. They really were the question, “so if one of your friends jumped off a bridge, you would too?”

Because they would and they would all be holding hands and Sweet Pea would be diving in head first.

Jughead settled on the couch without talking to anyone and pulled Betty against him so she was pressed between the arm of the couch and his body. 

He was not in the mood to share with Sweet Pea.

They all settled in and Jughead focused on his fettuccini alfredo and stealing bites of Betty’s turkey meatballs when she wasn’t looking. They were watching the fourth Harry Potter film when Jughead had had enough of socializing and being around people. He waited until Betty finished eating her food, and then stood to take both of their plates to the kitchen. When he came back, he didn’t sit down. Instead he held out his hand to her, and she placed it in his with a raised eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

“No one’s going to school tomorrow,” Jughead said as they left the room. He could hear the rest of the room burst out into questions, but all he said was, “family meeting. That’s on Boss Man,” and pulled Betty out of the room.

“Why aren’t we going to school tomorrow?” Betty asked worriedly. Jughead continue to trudge down the hall and to Betty’s room. He opened the door for her and she walked in while sending him a quizzical look.

“We aren’t going because I said we’re not. I need to be around family tomorrow and I have things I need to say, not subjects that don’t matter. We all have three free periods tomorrow.”

“Okay,” she breathed and walked over to him. She placed her arms under the collar of his jacket, and helped ease it off of his arms. Then she bent down and untied the laces of his heavy boots. He slipped out of the jacket and stepped out of the boots.

He stepped closer to her and gently pulled her hair from its too tight ponytail and massaged her scalp. She moaned happily and leaned her head against his hand. Then he removed his hands and leaned down to unlace _her_ boots and helped her step out of them.

She unbuttoned his flannel and pulled it off of him, slipped his suspenders off of his shoulders and untucked his black t-shirt.

He pulled off the oversized black sweatshirt that was no doubt Sweet Pea’s from her small frame and tossed it gently to the side. 

She started to tug off her leggings as he ripped off his shirt and unbuttoned his pants. He pushed them off of his legs, and then stood up straight.

She was so perfect. She was standing there in a pair of black cotton underwear and a matching bra and the harshness of the soft black against the soft glow of her skin made him want to cry again.

He took the two steps there were between them in one, and crushed her against him. It was one of the more intimate things that had happened between the two of them. He had genuinely no intent to have sex with her, he just wanted to feel the closeness and softness of this human being who meant more to him than anyone he ever thought possible.

She traced small circles against his back like she had done when they were about to go into the jail and peppered kisses against his chest. He pulled back enough to kiss her forehead and then brought her over to the bed. He stepped out of his underwear and unhooked her bra. She got completely naked and met him in bed. 

He turned them so he was spooning her, because he knew that in this position he could hold her closest. He wrapped one arm under her head and neck and crossed it down so it was tracing her hip. He took the other and wrapped it around her middle, just below her ribcage. 

He kissed the back of her head over and over and over again, and felt her turn her head when she could so she could kiss wherever she could reach.

“I didn’t thank you for coming today,” he whispered into the still darkness. Betty squeezed his arm.

“You don’t have to ever thank me for anything like that, love,” she said, and Jughead felt his heart swell at the pet name that fell from her lips.

“No, I do. And I swear to the god I don’t believe in that I will _never_ do anything stupid enough to land me jail time. I can’t promise Pea won’t get me arrested, but I can promise that there will never be any jail time.”

Betty laughed, “I believe you.” She paused and then asked, “what are you doing after we graduate?”

“Going where you go, of course.”

Betty tried to turn, but Jughead wouldn’t let her. “What?”

“Yeah, that what we’re having the family meeting about tomorrow. I want to talk to everyone about what is going to happen next year.”

“But did you have to be so serious about it?”

“Probably not, but I was feeling all of my feelings and thought that making a dramatic exit was the best way to handle the situation.”

“Reggie won’t be here,” Betty said, and Jughead took a moment to think about it.

“I know, and as much as I love Fangs, he’s only been seeing the guy a few weeks. And I like him, I really do. But I’m not about to include him in a family meeting about _our_ future, you know? Like if Fangs wants to take what we talked about to Reggie and go from there that’s fine, but I don’t think these specific plans will line up.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean I know I can’t live with out you, and you can’t live without me. Or Veronica. Or Cheryl. Or Pea. Or… do I need to go on and name our whole group?”

“No I guess not,” Betty said slowly, still not getting where this was going.

“Look, Park Ave and I have a sort of half assed ‘we were stoned when we talked about it a month ago’ plan that I am going to put out to the whole group so they can vote tomorrow. And I am going to get up early as fuck and get breakfast from that place that the three of you like to soften everyone up.”

“Forsythe Pendleton Beanie Boy Jughead Jones the third,” Betty said with a laugh, “what the fuck are you up to?”

The next morning, Betty and Jughead woke up before everyone and drove an hour outside of Riverdale to get overpriced avocado toasts and chicken and waffles to bring back to Cheryl’s house. They were still the only ones who were awake when they got back, so they curled up on the couch with their (overpriced) fancy coffees and continued to watch the movie that was on the night before.

It wasn’t until nine that anyone came down the stairs. Actually, everyone came down the stairs and descended upon the living room brunch buffet like a group of tired, angsty teenagers.

Oh wait…

Jughead waited until they had been mostly fed and Kevin had told them about the weird dream he had where Sweet Pea did the orange face filter on snapchat and then _became_ the orange face filter.

“Okay so,” Joaquin said once everyone had stopped laughing, “you had something you wanted to talk to us about?”

“Right,” Jughead said, suddenly anxious and regretting leaving his beanie upstairs. Betty was stroking his arm gently, letting him know she was there.

“Okay so look. I went to see my dad yesterday, and it reiterated for me how much I don’t want to be leader of the Serpents when high school is over. And from my conversations with the Serpents in the room, none of you want to continue as full-time members once we walk across that stage.

“I also know that everyone here who applied to go to school got into colleges in New York City. So I think we should figure out what’s going to happen when we graduate.” He trailed off and then added in an almost whisper, “because I can’t live without you guys.”

Cheryl, who had heard exactly what he had said responded with, “what’s that Boss Man? I didn’t hear you.”

Jughead glared at her but then yelled, “I said I can’t live without you guys!” making everyone jump.

There was a moment before Fangs jumped in and asked, “wait, you don’t want to be leader anymore?”

“I never wanted to be leader in the first place, Fangs. I thought I was going to get out before they made me leader, but then my stupid fucking father…”

“Right,” Toni said, jumping in quickly. “Well Cheryl and I got into Columbia”

“I’m going to FIT!” Veronica squealed excitedly.

“Kevin and I got into New School,” Joaquin added.

“I got into Pace,” Fangs said.

“And Betty and I are going to NYU,” Jughead said.

“Pssht, fuck four more years of studying and classes. I’m going to be a licensed mechanic! And I can do that shit from anywhere!” Sweet Pea yelled, making Jughead laugh. 

“Right so now that that’s settled…” Kevin said, “how are nine teenagers going to afford an apartment, or like… five, in New York City, and go to school, and have time to be teenagers?”

“That’s where Park Ave comes in,” Jughead said, shooting a glance at Veronica. 

“Me? I was not made aware of this plan,” Veronica said.

“He made it at the funeral,” Betty said simply, which made Jughead laugh.

“Who’s funeral?” Sweet Pea and Kevin asked with concern.

“FP’s,” Jughead answered. 

They both looked to Betty and Sweet Pea asked, “is he really dead?”

“As dead as he’s gonna get,” was her answer, and Jughead thought he’d combust on the spot.

“Oh right!” Veronica said from Sweet Pea’s lap, slapping him in the forehead as if it were her own. “Daddy owns a ton of different luxury apartment complex’s across Manhattan. That’s how we made and make all of our money.”

Eight pairs of eyes glanced in her direction and she grumbled, “okay fine, that’s how we _legally_ make all of our money _on paper._ ”

“There it is!” Joaquin cheered.

“Fangs?” Betty asked, getting everyone’s attention. Fangs had his head down and was staring at his phone with a soft and sort of sad smile.

“Reggie just sent me a text that says: When nine of the most popular and _loud_ students are all absent in one day, no one is suspicious. Are you guys at Cheryl’s or Jughead’s?” Fangs read.

“Well,” Sweet Pea started, “where did he get into school?”

“I don’t really want to talk to him about living together after dating for like, three weeks, Sweets. But I also don’t want to end things come summer.”

“Well you’re obviously going to have your own room,” Veronica said, “so why don’t you just assume you’ll stay together and make plans to visit, and pitch _that_ to him?”

“When did Park Ave get so smart,” Toni asked in a joking tone. Veronica threw a strawberry at her, but then Toni brought up a good point. “What is the sleeping arrangement going to be like?”

“Well,” Betty said, “Why don’t we just figure two three bedroom apartments, and go from there.”

“Where would we be without Betty?” Joaquin asked.

“Dead,” Jughead, Sweet Pea and Cheryl said back.

So from there on, it was settled. The nine of them were going to move to New York together and live in one of Veronica’s father’s luxury apartments in the penthouse or whatever. Jughead didn't care. He was going to get a chance to leave, to study film and writing and eat dollar pizza with the people he loved when he was drunk. 

He was going to get to start his life with Betty.

Which was obviously, the most important part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha!
> 
> So this story is going to be 25 chapters. But I do plan to make it sort of a series or sorts because I love the characters so much, but making a 100 chapter story feels a bit dramatic.
> 
> Anyway...
> 
> A new the compound chap is going to be up on Thursday, and stay tuned for a one shot I've been working on on the side!
> 
> As always, let me know what you think!
> 
> aaaaaaaand! come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> xx  
> BB


	18. (We’ve) Never Felt Comfortable Like This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That isn't how a democracy works," Betty said from Sweet Pea's lap. Jughead had officially gotten over Betty sitting on Sweet Pea and the physicality of their relationship. It wasn't something that was at all romantic or sexual.
> 
> But more importantly, it really wasn't something that Jughead couldn't control.
> 
> "Of course it isn't, Betty Boop," Veronica said with a wave of her hand. "It's a dictatorship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi loves!   
> It’s an hour before midnight, incase anyone wanted to ACTUALLY read this story on a Tuesday...
> 
> Disclaimer: I don’t own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta’d, so any and all mistakes are mine!

_Coffee– Miguel_

Jughead loved Veronica Lodge with his entire heart. 

But sometimes he really wanted to push her down a fucking flight of stairs.

The day after they had all come to the conclusion and understanding that they were all going to be moving to New York together, Veronica hit them with her famous five words:

“I have a _great_ idea.”

“Veronica, I love you, but please...” Fangs said, speaking Jughead's mind for him. 

It wasn't like _all_ of Veronica's ideas were bad, but, most of them ended in someone being physically harmed. For example, it was Veronica's idea to have Cheryl and Betty get as drunk as they did that one Tuesday. It was Veronica's idea to pre-game with margaritas before Cheryl's party. It was Veronica's idea to play truth or dare in the woods causing Sweet Pea to streak and Fangs to practically die. 

However, it was also Veronica's idea to do secret santa, which was actually a success. Jughead had gotten Veronica, and she loved the cashmere sweater that he (Betty) had picked out for her. And he loved the silver snake cufflinks that Kevin gave to him.

But the almost evil looking glare in Veronica's eyes made Jughead nervous for what was to come. They were sitting at lunch, and it was just the nine of them. Reggie was sitting with his football bros as they talked about a party or something that they were going to be hosting that unfortunately Jughead was going to have to attend because he kinda loved Reggie.

Well, he loved Fangs, and Fangs was falling in love with Reggie so...

"Veronica, can we put this to a vote once you tell us your idea?" Joaquin asked skeptically.

"No."

"That isn't how a democracy works," Betty said from Sweet Pea's lap. Jughead had officially gotten over Betty sitting on Sweet Pea and the physicality of their relationship. It wasn't something that was at all romantic or sexual.

But more importantly, it really wasn't something that Jughead couldn't control.

"Of course it isn't, Betty Boop," Veronica said with a wave of her hand. "It's a dictatorship."

There was a collective sigh throughout the table, and Jughead resigned to the fact that there was no escaping what was about to happen.

"It's really not that bad of an idea," Toni said, surprising them all.

" _You're_ in on this?!" Sweet Pea yelled. "I'm out," he said, trying to lift Betty off of his lap so he could escape.

"Actually, no," Joaquin said. "It makes me feel a bit better that there is someone with some _SANITY_ involved in whatever this is."

Toni glared at them and handed each person a fake ID. Jughead looked at his own and rolled his eyes. It said that his name was "Franklin Pierce III." Cheryl was "Caroline Benson," and so on and so forth. All of their names had the first and last letter as the same as their real name, which Jughead realized was probably smart because whatever they were doing with these, it would be easy to remember.

"Right, okay," Joaquin said slowly. "I take it back."

"Shut up, Quin," Veronica said. "You guys are making a big deal out of nothing. All that's happening is we're going to New York City for the long weekend, checking out where we will be living, and then exploring. The IDs are if we want to get into clubs and stuff, nothing more."

The table was silent.

"This is both a good idea and a bad idea and I have a lot of questions," Betty said slowly.

"Yesterday, we decided that we were going to move to New York as a family and live in two separate three-bedroom apartments on the same floor. But for the most part, a lot of us haven't experienced the city and all it has to offer. So Toni and I came to the decision last night that we should go for the long weekend, check out our new place, and run around the city like the socialites we aren't."

Once again, the table was silent.

"I have my questions now," said Betty. Veronica made a sweeping gesture with her hands, indicating that Betty could proceed.

"Where will we be staying when we get there?"

"Hotel," Veronica answered.

"How are we getting there?" 

"I wanted a driver to take us, but Toni objected. So we're taking a train."

"Will we be driven around when we are there, or will we be taking the subway."

"Can and driver. Next."

"How much is each person paying?"

"Nothing. Daddy is paying. No objections."

"Hmm," Betty said. "Does that cover it all?" she asked, addressing the group.

"When are we leaving?" Cheryl asked with a very excited look in her eyes.

"Tomorrow morning, we're ditching," Veronica said simply.

"We are?" Jughead asked.

"We are."

“We ditched yesterday,” Fangs pointed out. 

“And we’re ditching again tomorrow. Any more questions?”

Normally Jughead didn't have a problem with ditching. In fact, he usually encouraged it. However, since he was trying to figure out what the fuck to do with the Serpents, he had been planning to ditch Friday anyway in order to talk to Sweet Pea about what to do next.

Him and Sweet Pea made eye contact across the table, and it didn't go unnoticed by his girlfriend. She raised a brow at him, and he shrugged his shoulders quickly. She smiled, knowing exactly what he meant.

_Later._

One of the perks of not speaking to Betty for two weeks was learning what each of her eyebrow raises meant, and how to interpret them. 

When the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, Jughead jumped up and grabbed Betty by the hand, dragging her off to the Blue and Gold office. They both had a free period after lunch, so they often found themselves sitting on the couch, Betty's feet on his lap and his hand lightly resting on the back of it.

"What’s got you worried, my love?” Betty asked. Jughead sighed, took off his beanie and placed it next to him.

“I need to figure out what to do with the Serpents, and how to handle the situation,” he finally said. Betty stayed quiet and interlaced her fingers with his. He played with her fingers and moved his head down so he could kiss her knuckles. Just as he was about to speak, Sweet Pea walked through the door.

“You left the door unlocked,” he said as he turned the lock and headed towards them. Jughead pulled Betty up so she was sitting on his lap and Sweet Pea sat down next to them. “That’s bold.”

“It’s not like we were doing anything,” Betty said offhandedly.

“Not yet,” he replied with a wink.

“Anyway,” Jughead said, wanting to move on from this conversation, “I was just talking to Betty about the whole Serpent thing. And not knowing what the hell to do.”

“Oh,” Sweet Pea said, “right.”

“What are your options?” Betty asked, playing with the hair that had flopped over his eyes when he removed his hat.

Jughead thought about it. On one hand, he really wanted to leave the Serpents behind. Leave and move to New York and not look back. Leave behind the idea of being the “Serpent Prince,” and all of the responsibility that came with that. 

Essentially, leave behind part of his identity.

On the other hand, he couldn’t bear the idea of the Serpents slipping back into the illegal routines and mentalities that his father had instilled during his time in charge. Jughead had worked tirelessly to be able to say that the Serpents _didn’t_ deal hard drugs or guns or other illegal activity any more. He had changed the way the entire town thought about the Southside, and was he really ready to give that up just because he was moving to another part of the state?

He didn’t know.

He did know, however, that he wouldn’t leave the family that he was now a part of. He didn’t know if he could live with himself if he abandoned the people that had become his brothers and sisters. He didn’t know if he could leave Red and her ability to turn any conversation sexual. Or Park Ave, who he knew would come up with the most life threatening and dangerous ideas, but would go to the mat for him, and even help hide a body. Even Kevin, who he felt he was predisposed to hate because he was the Sheriff’s son, became Jughead’s movie man, and would always back him up when he wanted to watch something more refined than Harry Potter. 

Again.

His fellow Serpents, the ones that he had grown up with, the ones he had only recently learned to love, and each person in between, he didn’t know if he would be betraying them if he left the Serpents in the hands of someone who didn’t hold the same values and ideas that they did.

But _was_ there anyone who held those same values?

But really, the person he could never leave, was Betty. Hell, he would marry her the second she turned eighteen if she asked him to. If someone had told him August where he would be less than six months later, Jughead would have laughed in their faces, but still secretly hoped that it was true. He had known Betty had a beautiful soul from the first moment he saw her waitressing at Pop’s, and he was the luckiest man alive to even have her look in his direction.

However, he also knew that the people who frequented the Whyte Wyrm, the ones who waved to him when he would walk through Sunnyside, the ones who came to him for advice to a casual conversation, they were his family too. They were the people who watched him grow up and grew up with him, and he would be betraying them if he left behind a legacy that was so clearly his own.

“I have no fucking idea,” he said finally. He looked over at Betty and Sweet Pea to find them smiling softly at him.

“Well no shit, Boss Man,” Betty said, surprising him. “You spaced out for a good five minutes, and didn’t even hear Pea and I making fun of your concentration face.”

“Shut up, Boss Lady,” Jughead said, poking Betty in the side. She squealed and moved backward, knocking the back of her head on Sweet Pea’s nose. 

“I fucking hate both of you,” Sweet Pea said as he massaged his nose.

“I just wish there was a way to do both,” Jughead said to no one in particular. 

“What do you mean?” Sweet Pea asked.

“I mean I wish there was a way for me to run the Serpents _and_ move to New York and leave it all behind,” Jughead said.

“Have you thought enough about it to actually see if you could make it happen?” Betty asked. He hadn’t. It was just a thought that he figured was a far fetched dream and completely unattainable by all standards. He didn’t really think anything was possible after dealing with the shitty cards he had been dealt as a sixteen year old.

Except, the sister of the boy who his father had been initially arrested for murdering was now someone he shared a house and apartment with, and was moving to a whole different place with her and her Serpent girlfriend in less than six months.

So maybe, it was possible.

“I just don’t see how,” Jughead said again, trying not to get his hopes up about some dream that was most likely impossible.

“Why?” Sweet Pea asked. “I mean, it’s not like it can’t be done. You spend enough time away from the Serpents that if you came up with a schedule to go back and forth, it could be done.” He gave Jughead a moment to process this. “And, you could honestly find someone who you trust enough to keep an eye on things and report back to you who you gave a cut of all things to.”

“Like a proxy,” Jughead said. “Someone to be me when I’m not there. Someone who is trustworthy enough to actually report back and act as leader, but not a, and no pun intended, but not a snake who would try and steal it out from under me or sell us out?”

“I mean, it does make sense,” Betty said in agreement. “But, do you know someone and think you could make it work?”

That was the part that had Jughead uncomfortable. He _didn’t_ have anyone in mind that he trusted enough to do that. Everyone he trusted was moving with him. 

Everyone except…

“Anyone heard from Dorain lately?”

Walking into Riverdale County Correctional for a second time felt just as weird as the first. Only this time, he didn’t have Betty with him, and there was no one to grab when things felt scary and uneven and uncomfortable. 

Jughead was very aware of the sound his combat boots made on the linoleum floor. They squeaked and scuffed and squealed under the weight of his body and he wanted to kick them off and run barefoot in the direction of the parking lot.

He told himself he would count to ten in his head, and if he wasn’t at the door to the visitor’s room by the time he reached one, he would decide it was a bad idea and go home.

He was being walked through by the time he reached two.

His father was sitting at a table in the back and looked just as sunken in as when he saw him a few days before. Only where there was a smile on his face the first time, FP Jones’s expression was cold and hard and emotionless and mirrored the look that Jughead was most likely displaying. 

At first when Jughead sat down, he said nothing. His father didn’t speak either, and Jughead didn’t know how long they sat there staring at each other before Jughead finally spoke up.

“So I should probably apologize for the other day,” he said quietly. His dad nodded his head, but didn’t say anything. 

They say in silence for a few more minutes before FP spoke. “I taught you how to speak your mind, boy. It would have been very unlike you to not have called me out like that.”

Jughead felt the back of his eyes grow hot, but scrunched his mouth up to his nose to avoid letting any tears fall.

“I need your advice,” he said quickly. 

FP looked taken aback. “Mine?”

“Yes, yours. I can’t really ask grandpa, so.”

“What’s up, boy?”

“How did you know that you were ready to lead the Serpents?”

“I didn’t,” FP said. “I was thrown into it, like you. Only, with different circumstances.”

“Right, but,” Jughead said, “how did you know that _I_ would be read to lead them.”

FP sighed and ran his hands over his face and up through his hair, a movement that Jughead found himself doing hundreds of times a day. “You’ve been a leader since the day you marched out of the womb. You have always taken charge, led people to the right decisions. Myself included. 

“But you didn’t want to lead the Serpents, which is probably why you’re so good at it. You weren't searching for power when you got put in charge, and again, I’ll never be able to apologize enough for that. You were dropped in charge and left with no real road map other than to make different and better decisions than your old man.

“My old man, I begged him to step down so I could become leader, but he wouldn’t have it. It was only when he officially couldn’t anymore, when he got too old, that he stepped down and handed it to me. And let me tell you boy, he was really fucking reluctant to.”

Jughead sat there wide eyed. He didn’t know that about his grandfather. He continued to think about what his dad had just said, when FP asked him a question.

“Is there something else on your mind there, boy?”

“I’m moving to New York in July. But I don’t want to leave the Serpents in just anyone’s hands.” His dad nodded, so he pushed on.

“There was this Ghoulie who I kind of… kidnapped in late October. I caught him coming in the Wyrm trying to get information out of my men to report back to Malachi. I kind of even held a gun to his head and forced information out of him, but that’s besides the point.

“I need someone who I can trust enough to watch over the Serpents while I’m gone, but who won’t take it from me and try to pull some bullshit. And he’s actually in jail now, but we could get him out easy. But I just… I don’t know if it’s worth the risk.”

His dad said nothing, and just continued to nod his head. Jughead could see the idea rolling around in his head. 

“Why is he a better choice than me?” FP asked. It was a question that Jughead knew was coming, so he was actually prepared.

“Because I put him in jail for something he didn’t do. You _did_ do things. And I can’t say that I actually trust you.” 

“I can accept that,” FP said. “What does Sweet Pea think? About you not leaving him in charge and wanting to bring in an outsider?”

“Ah, I might have been too angry to mention this the other day. Uh, he’s coming with us. Me, him, Toni, Fangs, Joaquin, Kevin Keller, Veronica Lodge, Cheryl Blossom and Be–”

“Did you say… Cheryl Blossom?”

“Yeah. She’s uh, kind of my best friend. They all are. We’re all going to live together.”

“And how are nine teenagers going to afford to live in New York together?”

Jughead was silent and gave his father a pointed look.

“The Lodge girl?”

“The Park Avenue Princess herself.”

FP let out a laugh. Like, a real laugh. The kind that Jughead hadn’t heard in years. It even made Jughead smile, as much as he really didn’t want it to. His dad stopped smiling his real smile when his mom left almost eight years ago. 

He didn’t want to admit it, but it made him start to miss his dad.

“Here’s my take,” FP started to say, “if you think you can trust this guy, go for it. Do what you need to do for your Serpents. _But have a back-up plan._ ”

“What, having your kid become in charge of a gang wasn’t your plan?”

“Can I tell you not to sass me?” FP asked jokingly.

“Abso-fucking-lutely not.”

Jughead ended up staying the whole hour that day. He talked to his dad about what was going on with the Serpents and how the club was doing. He told him that he had plans to fix up the trailer. No one was ever going to live in it, but the idea of having it fixed up made his dad smile one of those rare smiles again. 

He talked about Betty, which his dad realized was his favorite thing to do. He talked about how they met and how they started dating and how happy she made him. He explained how she was the glue that held the entirety of their little family together.

His dad ate it up.

At the end of the hour, Jughead didn’t promise to come back, because he couldn’t make promises that he couldn’t keep. But he did do one better; he hugged FP. FP was taken by surprise, but immediately grasped Jughead _hard_ and when the two broke away, they both pretended they weren’t teary-eyed.

Jughead hadn’t even put his car in drive when he called Betty.

“Hey my love,” she said when she answered.

“Are you at home?” 

“No,” she said. “I had to cover someone’s shift.”

“So you’re at work?” Jughead asked, already speeding towards a different exit.

“Yeah, until 10. Where have you been?”

“I went to see my dad.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a few moments before Betty said, “I’ll have your usual waiting at the counter.”

* * *

Jughead going and visiting his dad could really only mean one thing: he had questions about how best to proceed with the Serpents. 

Ever since they went and visited his dad the first time, Jughead had had a different energy. Betty knew that he wasn’t pulling away from her or them or their family or their plans. But she could tell that he was pulling away from something.

Turns out, it was his thoughts about what to do next. Betty knew that he was conflicted, but she didn’t realize how bad, and hopefully, his conversation with both her and Sweet Pea and his dad would help him come up with the next thing to do.

“Hey Pop,” Betty called, “can you fire a double cheese burger with all of the fixings, an order of onion rings, and throw in an order of crinkle fries too?”

“Jughead?”

“Jughead.”

Betty heard Pop laugh and she set off to make his double chocolate milkshake, and her strawberry one. She knew that she would end up sharing the strawberry one anyway, so she made sure to fill it to the brim.

Betty grabbed Jughead’s food from the window and set it down on the shelf under the counter. Then she walked through the diner with a pitcher of water in one hand, and a pot of coffee in the other and checked on all of her tables. Once she knew that they were all set and had no other questions, she headed back up to the front and opened her phone to text him and ask where he was, when a text came in.

**Beanie Boy– 6:43pm:** Come outside.

“Pop, I’m running outside really quickly! All tables have their food and have been checked on.” She didn’t wait for a reply before sprinting out the front door and into the parking lot. She saw him leaning against the back of the Jeep with a cigarette in his mouth. She ran to him, and was lucky that he saw her, because she ran up and wrapped both of her legs around his waist and held him tight. 

He wrapped one arm under her legs and the other snaked up her back and into her hair which was down that day. He inhaled deeply, and Betty could feel moisture begin to pool where their cheeks met, and she knew he was crying.

She slid down his body so she could stand directly in front of him. He suddenly became very busy with lighting his cigarette and looking up as he exhaled the first drag. 

“Look at me,” she whispered. He looked down and smiled at her as she used her palms to wipe his cheeks. Then she rested her hands there and said, “c’mon, finish that up. There’s no sadness that a double cheese burger, onion rings _and_ and crinkle fries can’t fix.” 

Jughead looked at her with a funny sort of look, and wrapped his arms back around her. “I love you, Betty Cooper.”

“I know,” she said with a smile. He frowned a joking sort of frown at this which made her let out a snort which made him laugh which was what she was trying to achieve all along.

“C’mon you little lemon,” she said again. “Our friends will be here soon and you need to tell me what happened before Cheryl tries to get it out of you. You aren’t as good as hiding your emotions as you once were.”

Betty grabbed his hand and started to walk away, but didn’t get very far. Jughead jerked her back and asked, “did you just call me a little lemon?”

“Yes, of course,” she said as if it was a silly question. “You’re sour until someone makes you sweet. I wanna put you on everything, and you’re perfect to squeeze.”

“So I’m a lemon,” he said.

“Yes, you’re a lemon.”

“A little lemon?” 

Betty just smirked at him and managed to pull him into the diner. “Not that little.” Jug smiled and followed her in. The bell dinged over their heads and Pop looked up from the window.

“How’s it goin’, Jughead?” he asked as Jughead slid onto a stool and slid his arm around Betty’s waist.

“It’s going, Pop,” he replied. “I just got back from seeing my dad.” 

That statement surprised Betty. She wasn’t expecting him to just tell people about his dad and his new found… forgiveness?... for him. But it was Pop, who _had_ known Jughead his entire life and from what he had told her, Pop had been there for him when no one else was.

“Oh yeah? How’s he doing?” Pop asked casually.

“He’s been better,” Jughead sighed and took a sip of his milkshake. “But he’s also definetly been worse.” This made Pop laugh and come out from behind the window and walk over to where Jughead was sitting.

He placed his hand on Jughead’s shoulder and said, “whatever you’re working with son, it won’t be as bad as when this all began.” Then he patted Jughead on the shoulder and walked back to the kitchen and over to the fryer.

“Did he have any advice?” Betty asked.

“He just told me to trust the person as far as I can throw them. And I think I could make a pretty compelling argument to Dorian as to why he should do it.”

“But aren’t you afraid that he will go back to Malachi and betray you?”

“Yes and no,” Jughead said. “I’m worried that he’d do that, but Malachi thinks he’s dead. And when Malachi figures out that not only is he _not_ dead, but he’s acting as a proxy to the Serpent leader, he’ll lose his mind.”

“And that’s a good thing?” Betty asked, extremely nervous. This was the guy that Jughead held a gun to, held hostage, and then got arrested and thrown in jail. Not necessarily trustworthy material.

“Well it would force Malachi to change all of his tactics. Which would buy us enough time to get him locked up for good.”

“And if Dorian says no?”

“Then I pick one of the guys in the club and let Sheriff Keller in on who the new guy is and leave Dorian in jail.”

Betty sighed and played with the hair that had fallen into his face. None of them were good scenarios in her mind. Betty wanted more than anything for Jughead to come with them to New York, but knew that if he couldn’t figure anything out, he’d stay. 

And so would she.

And so would everyone else.

And Betty knew that Jughead didn’t want that at all. But if one stayed, they all stayed. It wasn’t something that anyone thought about when applying to schools. None of them had any real ties to their blood families in Riverdale (except Kevin), so the idea of leaving all together was so natural and easy. 

There was never a doubt in any of their minds that they wouldn’t all graduate together, and then be together after. 

There was just the question of where it was going to be.

“I’m gonna run it by them when they get here,” Jughead said, and Betty knew he meant the other Serpents.

“Hey, remember when Cheryl and Veronica came in here, guns-a-blazing, demanding to know why I left that girls bathroom in your sweater with you and Pea?” Betty asked.

“And then Joaquin came in and yelled at everyone, which probably scared him more than anyone else?”

“And then you heard the commotion from outside the parking lot and demanded that _all_ of us get outside to talk?”

“And then Cheryl hit on Toni?”

“And it was all downhill from there,” Betty said with a huge smile. 

“We’re gonna get into some fuckery in New York, aren’t we?” Jughead asked, toying with the bow of her apron.

Betty nodded, “oh absolutely.”

“Promise?”

“On Veronica’s pearls,” Betty said with a giggle. Jughead mock-gasped in horror which made Betty break out into even bigger giggles. 

“I miss you,” Jughead said out of the blue.

“I’m right here,” Betty said softly, but she knew what he meant.

They spent all of their time together, but a lot of it was with other people. They did spend time with just themselves, but it was usually when they were going to sleep.

Since they started spending the night together, they hadn’t been able to be apart. The one time they tried, Jughead ended up at Cheryl’s house at 2:00am and crawling into bed next to Betty.

Jughead and Toni were supposed to crash at his apartment after a late night Serpent meeting, but decided at the same time that they couldn’t _not_ go to Thornhill where Cheryl and Betty were.

“I know,” he said back. “I just wish we could spend a weekend alone.”

“I don’t see why we can’t,” Betty said. “The weekend after we get back, put Sweet Pea in charge, turn off our phones, and spend the weekend eating food and watching movies and going down on each other,” she said the last part in a whisper and with a wink.

Jughead groaned, “that sounds fucking fantastic. But I’m not leaving Sweet Pea in charge of anything. I’ll leave Toni, or Quin.”

“That will be good,” Betty said. “Learn to delegate.”

“Ha, ha,” Jughead said sarcastically.

“What’s so funny?” Joaquin asked, walking up to them.

“When did you get here?” Betty asked, stepping away from Jughead to give him a hug.

“Two seconds ago. I came in before everyone else to warn you. Cheryl is in a mood…”

_Shit._

“What kind of mood?” Jughead asked carefully.

“Her mother called,” Quin said in a low voice.

Betty turned to the window where Pop was still standing at the fryer. “Can I get another order of crinkle cut fries, like, as fast as humanly possible?” Then she turned to Jughead and Joaquin and said, “last time this happened was the same day as all of the margaritas…”

“Ah,” they said at the same time.

“Maybe you should take the Serpents to the Wyrm and me and Veronica can go back to Thornhill with Cheryl.”

“Is that a suggestion?” Jughead asked.

“No,” Betty said. Pop rang the bell that signaled Cheryl’s fries were ready. Betty grabbed them out of the window and waited at the door with them.

But when Cheryl entered, she walked right in, ignoring Betty completely. Instead, she grabbed Jughead by the hand and dragged him back outside. He gave them a shrug as he was tugged out, and grabbed the fries from Betty’s hands before the door shut behind them.

“Today has been,” Betty said with a sigh, “really fucking weird.” Fangs walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders from her right, and Joaquin came over to her left.

“Where’s Reggie?” Betty asked.

“Outside with Pea, Toni and Veronica,” Fangs told her.

“And Kevin?”

“Thursday night dinner with his dad and Mayor McCoy. He was gonna ditch and come hang out, but Veronica sprang the trip on us, and he needed to talk to them.”

“Mmmm,” Betty hummed and leaned the side of her head against Joaquin’s shoulder.

“Hey Betty, why don’t you head out for the evening. Ethel is coming in for her second training shift and you’re covering for someone, so get on out of here,” Pop called in a cheery voice. Betty smiled a huge smile of relief and walked behind the counter to punch out, change and grab her stuff.

She followed Fangs and Joaquin outside, as they were the only ones who made it inside before shit hit the fan.

“Cheryl you have to come with us,” Betty overheard Jughead day to her red-haired best friend with his hands on her shoulders. She was smoking a cigarette and had a frown on her face, but her body was less tense than it was when she first walked out.

“What’s going on?” Betty asked as she walked up to where everyone was gathered around Jughead’s Jeep.

“Mama Blossom called,” Sweet Pea said. “She apparently said a bunch of shit to Cheryl making her not want to go to New York anymore.”

“And Jughead seemed to be the only person she wanted to talk to about it,” Veronica said with a sigh.

“We can’t get drunk tonight,” Betty said. “We need to get ourselves ready to leave in the morning.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell her, B!” Veronica half yelled. “There are so many bars that we can go to tomorrow night to get shit-faced. But tonight is just not the night.”

“I mean she _can_ drink for free at the Wyrm,” Sweet Pea said to his girlfriend.

“Sweet Pea, do you love me?” she asked.

“Are you riding?” he replied. 

A small smile broke out on Veronica’s face, but before Betty could ask, Toni said, “say you’ll never, ever leave.”

_Are you… kidding me?_ Betty thought.

“From beside me,” Fangs yelled out.

“‘Cuz I want you,” Joaquin called back.

“And I need you,” Reggie sing-yelled, throwing his arm around Betty.

“And I’m down for you always!” They all scream-singed, and broke out into hysterical laughter.

“Who invited Drake to the party?” Cheryl asked. 

“Veronica,” Sweet Pea said. “Can I hug you, Red?”

“No.” 

“Fine.”

Betty smiled and leaned hard against Reggie, hoping he would stumble a bit and fall over. However, she was tiny, and he was Reggie. So rather than him falling, he just picked her up and jogged in circles around the parking lot until he handed her to Sweet Pea, who held her like she was a baby and pretended to drop her over and over.

“Oh my god, give me my girlfriend,” Jughead said finally. “And we’re going to the Wyrm. Cheryl is allowed _two_ drinks and then will be going home to _pack._ Because in case anyone forgot, we’re going to New York tomorrow, and there is no way in hell that I’m the one pressed about packing, time and what the hell I’m going to wear.”

Everyone was silent, trying so hard not to laugh. Only from the corner of her eye, she saw Cheryl crack first. It sounded as if the mouth of a balloon was being pulled apart slowly. “Pffffffffffft,” she laughed. 

Then everyone lost it. 

Sweet Pea was laughing so hard that he had to squat next to the wheel of the car so he could brace it, that’s how intense it was. Veronica and Toni were clutching each other with their arms and legs crossed, looking like they were about to pee themselves. Cheryl was leaning against Jughead’s chest and literally punching it. And Betty, Joaquin, Fangs and Reggie we’re doubled over and trying to control their breathing.

When they got themselves together, Betty got in the car with Jughead. They were both taking collective deep breaths when Jughead said, “you know, once everyone is settled at the bar, we can go upstairs and be alone.”

Betty smirked and raised an eyebrow. “You mean, we can leave Joaquin and Toni in charge?”

“That’s exactly what I mean.”

And that’s exactly what they did. They got Cheryl, who was feeling better, settled at the bar, and told Joaquin and Toni that Cheryl’s cut off was two drinks, everyone else's was three, and Reggie, who was going to be DD for everyone not staying at the Wyrm, was allowed to eat whatever he wanted.

Everyone was happy.

“We’re going upstairs. Apparently I need to practice delegating and spend more time with my girlfriend. So unless I am the _only_ person who could fix the problem, don’t call me.”

There was a series of wolf-whistles and cat-calls that followed them as they exited the main part of the bar and up the back of the stairs towards Jughead’s apartment.

When he unlocked the front door, he held it open for Betty who went in first. By the time he had closed it, Betty had jumped him. Luckily for her, he was prepared. He wrapped both of her legs around his waist and carried her over to the couch. 

He pressed hot kisses all over her body and she squirmed underneath him. She clawed at his sweatshirt and tried to pull it off of his body. He got the hint quickly and pulled his sweatshirt off. She did the same, quickly tucking her arms into the sleeves of her sweater and pulling it over his head. 

He straddled her lap and pulled her waist up, tucking his arms right under to unclasp her bra. She tugged the straps slowly down her arms and let him throw it off the chest. He continued to sit straddled on top of her while he slowly undid his belt and pulled it off, loop by loop.

“You’re teasing me,” Betty said with a pout. 

“You love it.”

“I know I do,” she said and squealed when he tipped forward so his hands landed on either side of her face.

“Didn’t we make a deal where I leave someone in charge and we get to go down on each other?”

“Hmm,” Betty said with a giggle. “Yes I do believe that that was the original plan.”

“Perfect,” Jughead said. He lifted her up so he was carrying her over his shoulder and walked her through the hall and to their room.

He put her gently on the bed and pulled her pants and panties off in one swift motion. Then he pulled her to the edge of the bed, and spread her legs. 

He kissed from her inner knee to her center, and then exhaled a hot breath against it before moving to the other side, and kissing all the way back down.

He ran both of his hands up her legs as he placed light kisses on her lower abdomen. She squirmed under the sensation of it, and tried to buck her hips up to him. 

He wasn’t allowing that.

“Please Juggie,” she moaned. She hoped that he would just get to it, but knew that that wasn’t the case.

“Please… what?” he asked, and propped himself up on one elbow and rested his hand on his hand. Then with the other hand, he lazily stroked up and down her slit, never touching her where she needed him to.

“You know what I want,” she moaned.

“Mmmm, no I don’t,” he said with a devilish grin.

“Juggie.”

“Baby.”

“Please.”

“Please _what_?”

_“Fuck me with your mouth and tongue,”_ she moaned.

“Oh, of course,” he said with a sigh and moved off of his elbow so he could situate himself between her legs. “All you had to do was ask.”

She whacked him lightly on the head and then fisted her fingers in his thick hair. He had draped one of her legs over his shoulders and had that same hand on her hip, holding her down. Then he used the other hand to spread her lips apart before carefully wrapping his mouth around her.

Betty didn’t know how she was the only other person Jughead had ever had sex with or hooked up with, because when he went down on her, it was fucking incredible. Obviously at first, like everything new, it was awkward, as she was the first person he’d ever gone down on before.

But he proved to be an incredibly good and incredibly fast learner. 

Betty arched her back to try and get closer to him. He had stopped sucking on her clit and was alternating between soft and slow to hard and fast licks. When she moaned to tell him she was close, he stopped and switched to gently sucking her.

It wasn’t until he entered one long finger inside of her that she started to unravel. 

“Can I cum?” she whispered, instantly regretting asking and wishing she just told him.

“No.”

“Aah,” she cried, and tried to pull away from him. Her orgasm was building and she had been denied release, and didn’t know when making sure she pleased him like that became so important.

She loved it.

He removed his mouth from her and Betty cried out. “Why! Why!”

“Oh I’m not done,” Jughead said. “I’m just enjoying the view.” Betty let her eyes flutter shut and threw her head back. “You said you wanted to cum?”

“Yes, yes,” she whispered and nodded her head.

“You can,” Jughead said softly. But then with an edge he added, “but you have to keep your eyes open. And look at me. The whole. Time.”

_This man almost just made me cum right here and that would have been a waste of an insane orgasm._

Feeling very emboldened she whispered, “yes, daddy.”

Jughead’s head snapped up and his eyes darkened. “What did you say?”

“Yes, daddy. I’ll look at you when I cum.”

Jughead froze, and Betty was worried for a moment, but then he pushed his body up and lightly wrapped his hand around her neck, and shoved his tongue down her throat. With the other hand, he reinserted his fingers inside of her. 

She broke the kiss with a moan, but Jughead wouldn’t allow it. He continued to kiss and bite and suck her lips and then without warning, he moved back down and did it again.

“I want you to cum for me now, Betty,” he said in a dark voice.

Betty felt her eyes rolling to the back of her head and she couldn’t stop the wave of pleasure from taking over her body.

“Betty,” Jughead said again, and she remembered what his terms for her orgasm were, and pushed herself up onto her forearms so she could look at him as she came all over his face.

When she had ridden her orgasm out, she fell backwards on the bed. Jughead spent the next few moments peppering her legs with kisses before he got up and walked to the bathroom. He handed her a soft and warm towel that she used to clean herself up with. 

He lay down horizontally on the bed with her.

“Hi,” she whispered as she kissed him.

“Daddy?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.

“I didn’t hear you complaining.”

“Good, because I wasn’t,” he said with a laugh, and kissed her on the forehead.

“Mmmm,” Betty moaned, starting to sit up. “My turn.”

“Actually, babe. I wanna shower first. I still feel like I can feel the grime from the jail on me, and would love to be clean before you put any part of me in your perfect little mouth.”

Betty laughed and agreed. “Then I’m getting under the covers and putting on a movie.”

“As long as it’s not Harry Potter.”

“Pride and Prejudice?”

“Not the one with Firth though.”

“Deal,” she said with a smile and he sealed it with a kiss.

Betty got under the covers, completely naked, and set an alarm for six the following morning. Their train was at eleven, but Betty would need to go back to Cheryl’s before they could go. 

She also knew it took Jughead hours to get out of bed. 

She turned on the movie and smiled at the opening scene of Keira Knightly as Elizabeth Bennet reading a leather bound copy of Pride and Prejudice, and at the sound of Jughead’s shower playlist emanating from the bathroom.

Twenty minutes later, Jughead walked back into their room, torso exposed, and bottom half covered only by the small white towel around his waist. He was using another towel to dry his hair, when he looked over at Betty. Noticing she was still naked, a dirty smile played across his lips as he stalked over to their bed.

“Juggie,” she moaned, “we’re going to New York tomorrow.”

“We can also go again right now,” he said, nibbling on her collarbone.

“But we are going to New York tomorrow,” was all she could argue back.

“Mhmm,” Jughead hummed in agreement, “and we can also go again right now,” and leaned over to turn off the lamp on his bedside table.

She wasn’t mad at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> New York next chapter!
> 
> Also, my dumb ass already has another multichap prepped for when the compound wraps. And! Another compound chap on Thursday!
> 
> Let me know what you think & come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee


	19. When Your Eyes Are All Painted Sinatra Blue // (Someday My Pain)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You guys did… what?”
> 
> “Oh yeah, you hadn’t been abducted yet. Actually… only Betty had been,” Joaquin mused, and turned the car on. He started to drive behind Sweet Pea towards the train station. “When Archie attacked Betty, she was being cleaned up by Sweets and Jug, and she walked out of the girls bathroom with the two of them wearing Jughead’s clothes. Then Archie told the whole school that Jughead and Sweet Pea attacked him and then the three of them fucked in the girls bathroom.
> 
> “Cheryl and Veronica found out, but thought the rumor was true. So they went to Pop’s where they found Betty and Sweets, and Veronica tried to physically assault him.”
> 
> “Yeah, and Cheryl made me climb over the counter in my uniform so I could try and shake some sense into her. Then Joaquin came in and started screaming, which made everyone uncomfy,” Betty finished.
> 
> “And then later that night, Betty walked in on Jughead holding a gun to Dorian’s head and the rest of us with bloody hands and knuckles,” Fangs chimed in.
> 
> “And then the next day, Betty and Jughead stopped talking for two weeks,” Joaquin said.
> 
> “October was weird,” Betty said with a sigh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Surprise Sunday!!
> 
> That came to me minutes after I published the latest the compound chapter last night / this morning, and since I missed a week, I figured I'd just give you two chapters of this this week.
> 
> Anyway, as always, I love you!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the story. This is un-beta'd and any and all mistakes are mine.

_The Wolves (Act I and II)– Bon Iver_

When Betty’s alarm went off at 6am that morning, Jughead was already awake and making a pot of coffee. It was surprising and confusing, and she walked over to the counter in the kitchen and yawned loudly.

“You’re up early,” she said, kissing him on the cheek when he walked over to her and handed her a mug of steaming coffee. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. She frowned slightly, but chalked it up to him not getting enough sleep the night before. They had stayed up talking and kissing and fucking and laughing and in those moments, Betty realized that he was the love of her life. 

A fairly serious thing to realize at seventeen years old.

“I didn’t really fall asleep,” he admitted. “Had a lot on my mind.” 

Again with a vague answer and expression. She tried to convince herself that nothing was wrong, but was having difficulty doing so. 

“I’m gonna bring you to Red’s so you can get the rest of your stuff, and then meet you at the train station.”

“Oh?” Betty asked. 

_I don’t like this._

“Yeah it will just be easier if we pack at the same time rather than try to pack here and then there and then leave. Plus, you can get a ride in with the girls. Sweets told me that Veronica crashed over there last night to keep Red company.”

_I know for a fact that Veronica isn’t at Cheryl’s because she texted me last night saying she had made it back to her house and was so excited for our trip. Why are you lying to me, Beanie Boy?_

“Oh, that makes sense,” Betty said quietly. _So we’ve quickly reverted back to half truths, Elizabeth?_

Jughead smiled, but it still didn’t reach his eyes. Betty’s blood was boiling, as she tried to figure out why her boyfriend was lying to her about such a little thing. Something she could verify so easily. Something that didn’t make sense. 

“I can take myself,” she said off handedly. “My truck is in the lot.”

“No, let me-”

“It’s fine, Jughead,” Betty said, using his whole name. It wasn’t something she did often anymore. He was, “Jug,” or “Juggie,” or a myriad of other pet names. He was only ever “Jughead,” when she was upset or he was buried all the way inside her, and in this situation it wasn’t the latter. 

Betty finished her coffee and gave short and unemotional answers to his questions for the next hour. When 7am rolled around, Betty hopped off the stool and headed towards the shower.

“Want me to join?” Jughead asked in a soft voice. It was the voice that usually sent Betty’s stomach plummeting into her core. But now it felt fake and forced, like an obligation, and not the kind of thing that would have been said less than twenty-four hours ago.

“Not this morning,” she said quietly, and walked into the bathroom. She closed the door and locked it behind her, something she never did when taking a shower. The only other time that she had locked the door was when she woke up to all of her friends sleeping in Jughead’s apartment the day after she got kicked out. 

She didn’t feel that type of love today.

She turned the water onto its hottest setting, and waited until the mirror had fully steamed over before undressing and getting in. She kicked her clothes hard against the door and let out an audible grunt of frustration. She didn’t know if it was loud enough for him to hear, but she hoped it was. 

Stepping in, she winced at the scalding water hitting her back, but forced herself to breathe through it until the fire consumed her in a comforting way. She held her breath and decided that she wasn’t going to let his attitude get the better of her today. They were going to New York in just a few hours, and Betty had never been more excited.

Except, a little voice of doubt kept reminding her of the lie that he had told her about Veronica, and the oddity that was him getting up earlier than her.

He was also a _notorious_ sleeper. In all of her months knowing and sleeping next to him, Betty had never heard of an instance where he wasn’t able to sleep. 

There was something wrong with the situation.

She went through the half assed motions of washing her hair and body, and flinched when she heard the front door slam. She hadn’t heard it open in the first place, and figured someone had knocked on the door to give something to him.

But it was only 7am.

Betty hurried through rinsing off, and wasn’t sure if she even got everything. She turned off the water, ripped the shower curtain open, and grabbed her towel off the hook. 

Her towel.

A week after she had left Alice’s house, Jughead brought up the topic of their shared space.

“I definitely have stuff I need to get rid of, so I’ll make sure you have room for all of the essentials in the drawers. And I saw this thing where we could put a second and lower tension rod in the closet, and I can move my clothes down to that and give you the top, since I don’t have as much stuff.”

Betty giggled at this and stroked his cheek. They were sitting on the couch and her legs were thrown over his lap.

“You’ve been doing research?”

“Well… yeah. You’re living between here and Red’s now, and I don’t want you living out of a duffle bag.”

She smiled and kissed him hard and slow. “And what about towels?”

“Towels?”

“Well you only have all white towels, so it would be kind of weird if we mixed them up and shared them.”

“Betty Cooper. Are you saying you won’t share a towel with me?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Fine! I will get myself a _very_ cool towel and let you have the white ones.”

“That’s perfectly fine with me,” she said with a laugh, and kissed him again.

Two days later, Jughead plopped an Amazon box on the couch and told Betty to open it. It was really big and really heavy and she was… really scared.

In the box were three really large and really pink Strawberry Shortcake beach towels.

“You can find anything you want on Amazon, Cooper. Don’t you wish you were sharing a towel with me now?”

Betty had to try very hard to keep a straight face as she said, “I cannot wait to show these to Sweet Pea.”

The look of horror that crossed Jughead’s face was what finally sent her over the edge. 

She took a moment to look at the stupidly large Strawberry Shortcake towel hanging on the hook next to hers, and tried not to cry. Because in her heart, she knew that the slam of that door was not Jughead grabbing another package or talking to another Serpent. No, he had left their apartment before she had even gotten out of the shower, without a courtesy knock or a yell in her direction. 

Betty opened the door and called out, “Jug?” 

No answer.

_This fucking asshole._

She walked into their room and grabbed her phone from where it was charging. 

No texts.

She pulled open the phone call app and dialed his number.

Straight to voicemail.

She opened her messages and texted him.

**Betty Cooper- 7:23am:** where are you?

Twenty minutes later, Betty was dressed in leggings and one of Jughead’s sweatshirts and walking out of the door. She locked it behind her, and walked down the stairs to the bar. Joaquin was sitting at one of the tables on his phone, and she saw Fangs exit the back office with two glasses of water.

She headed in their direction and asked, point blank, “have either of you seen Jug?”

“Good morning to you too, Princess,” Joaquin said, and stood up to hug her. She stayed stiff as a board and when he pulled back, he looked at her with a quizzical frown. “Are you okay?”

“Have. You. Seen. Jug.”

“No? Weren’t you just in his apartment?”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Betty snarled at Fangs. He took a step back and looked at her like she had two heads. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “He walked out while I was in the shower, and I don’t know where he went. And before you ask, I’ve tried calling and texting.”

As she was talking, she saw Joaquin whip out his phone and start texting. When he got no reply, he also called him.

“Voicemail,” he said, just as Fangs lowered his phone and nodded in agreement.

“Okay, whatever,” Betty said quietly. She started to tear up, and tried to discreetly wipe her eyes. Joaquin hugged her again, and this time Betty relaxed a bit.

“C’mon, kid. I’ll drive you to Cheryl’s.” Betty nodded and walked out with the two of them. She hopped in the front seat and turned around to smile at Fangs, who placed his hand on her shoulder. 

They drove in silence to Cheryl’s house, and Betty found herself looking out the window and smiling at the idea of nine people all packing up their lives and moving together. It felt weird, and Betty knew it wasn’t normal. If you had told her at the start of the school year that she would be moving to New York City with her (for all intents and purposes) sisters, one of her oldest friends, and five gang members, she would have laughed in your face.

She knew that in reality, they _could_ live without spending each day together, but they didn’t want to. Each and every one of them grew up with a warped sense of family and what that meant. Like someone would spend everyday with their family, they spent everyday with each other. Except, they were all teenagers and there were nine of them.

They pulled up to Thornhill, and Betty jumped out of the car. She ran to the door, flung it open and screamed, “VERONICA!”

Multiple pairs of footsteps came running in different directions, and not surprisingly, Veronica was the last to meet her.

“What! What?” 

Betty made eye contact with her, and then eye contact with Cheryl and grabbed both of their hands and led them back outside.

“Betty, what?” Veronica said nervously. “You’re worrying me.”

“Did you sleep here or at home last night?” 

Veronica cocked her head to the side and said slowly, “I slept at home.” She turned to Cheryl, who shrugged. “Why?”

“Because this morning Jughead told me that you slept here last night to take care of Cheryl, and that’s why he was dropping me off here to pack. But then when I was in the shower, he left the apartment and didn’t leave a note, call or text me. _And,_ Joaquin and Fangs tried texting and calling him, and they also got no answer.”

“What the fuck?!” they exclaimed at the same time.

“And on top of all of that, Jughead said that _Sweet Pea_ told him that you stayed here. So either Jughead is a double fucking liar, or Sweet Pea is a snake.”

They were all silent for a moment before Cheryl offered up, “honestly, both are possible.”

“And snake wasn’t the right word… to… use,” Veronica said slowly.

That made Betty smile, and the girls glommed onto each other in a hug for another five minutes. 

“I need to pack,” Betty sighed. 

“I already packed for you…” Veronica said with an impish grin.

Betty just threw her hands up and dragged the girls back into the house. “Will you talk to Sweets, V? I feel like I’ll just hit someone if it’s my responsibility.” Veronica kissed Betty’s cheek as a reply, and Betty went to lay down on one of the couches in the living room. 

She closed her eyes as her head hit the arm rest and listened to her friends flutter around Thornhill getting ready to leave. Betty, looking at her phone and seeing that she _still_ had no texts from Jughead, threw it across the room so it hit the couch opposite her.

She shut her eyes again, and tried to find peace in the noises around her and the comfortability of the couch when her legs were lifted by familiar hands, and a body slid underneath them. She sighed again, and realized she’d probably be doing that for the rest of the weekend.

“Is it going to make you more or less angry to know that I haven’t talked to Jughead since you two walked out of the bar last night?”

Betty huffed and pulled a pillow over her face. She let the hot tears stream down her cheeks and tried to hold her body as still as possible. 

“I know you’re crying, Coop,” Sweet Pea said gently. “It’s all good, everyone is outside packing the cars, and we’re going to leave soon.”

“Not everyone,” Betty said thickly.

“No,” Sweet Pea said, smoothing his hands over her shins. “Not everyone.”

Betty took the pillow off of her face and sat up. She looked at Sweet Pea, who was wearing his Serpent jacket and a black hoodie underneath. He handed her his oversized aviator sunglasses and picked her up so she could walk with him to the car.

“What happens if he doesn’t get on the train?” Betty whispered.

“Then I’ll call every Serpent I know and send them after him. I _am_ second in command, you know.” Betty smiled, and they approached the rest of the group.

“Listen up, angels,” Cheryl said, “Jughead is being, quite possibly, the worst person/friend/brother/boyfriend _ever_ currently, and if he doesn’t get on the train, well,” she trailed off, looking at Betty and Sweet Pea, “then these two will call the shots on what’s next.”

“Otherwise,” Toni said from behind her, “we’re going to have an amazing time and eat amazing food and make amazing memories about our first family excursion and glimpse into our future lives.”

Betty cheered a half assed cheer from her place next to Sweet Pea, and then walked over to Joaquin’s car. She slid into the back seat next to Fangs, and watched as Toni and Cheryl jumped in Sweet Pea’s car with Veronica.

She caught a brief glimpse into their relationship too. Sweet Pea was speaking hushed and hurriedly to Veronica, and she had both of her hands wrapped around the lapels of his jacket. When he ducked his head, she tilted his chin back up with her hand and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. He wrapped both of his arms around her waist and held her there after their lips broke apart, foreheads pressed together with their eyes shut.

“We don’t see that very often,” Fangs whispered. He had scooted closer to Betty to see what she was seeing.

“Sometimes I forget they’re together,” she admitted.

“I think we all do.”

“You kids buckled?” Joaquin asked, turning around to look at them.

“When did you turn into their dad?” Kevin asked, slapping Quin on the arm.

“Well _someone_ has to parent them, and I’ve basically been doing it since we caused a scene at Pop’s.”

“You guys did… what?”

“Oh yeah, you hadn’t been abducted yet. Actually… only Betty had been,” Joaquin mused, and turned the car on. He started to drive behind Sweet Pea towards the train station. “When Archie attacked Betty, she was being cleaned up by Sweets and Jug, and she walked out of the girls bathroom with the two of them wearing Jughead’s clothes. Then Archie told the whole school that Jughead and Sweet Pea attacked him and then the three of them fucked in the girls bathroom.

“Cheryl and Veronica found out, but thought the rumor was true. So they went to Pop’s where they found Betty and Sweets, and Veronica tried to physically assault him.”

“Yeah, and Cheryl made me climb over the counter in my uniform so I could try and shake some sense into her. Then Joaquin came in and started screaming, which made everyone uncomfy,” Betty finished.

“And then later that night, Betty walked in on Jughead holding a gun to Dorian’s head and the rest of us with bloody hands and knuckles,” Fangs chimed in.

“And then the next day, Betty and Jughead stopped talking for two weeks,” Joaquin said.

“October was weird,” Betty said with a sigh.

“Yeah,” they both agreed pensively.

Kevin was speechless. He looked throughout the rest of the car at his friends and just said, “I honestly don’t want to know more.”

This made Fangs and Joaquin laugh, and Betty smile, which was enough for now.

They arrived at the train station and Betty glared at Veronica as she pulled out a monogrammed, “BL” Louis Vuttion duffle bag.

“First of fucking all,” Betty snapped, “this bag is so expensive I might have to hit you with it. And second of fucking all, my initials are BC.”

“Betty, I know what your initials are,” Veronica said slowly with a smirk.

“Then why does this say BL?” Betty said, close to hysteria.

“Boss Lady,” Kevin whispered in her ear as he walked past. Betty dropped the bag and threw her hands up.

“I know I’m being overly dramatic but can someone else try calling fucking Jughead because I am not only overly emotional, but also overly angry.”

“Yes, Boss Lady,” Toni said and hugged Betty from behind. Betty tried to shake her off, but it only made her hold on tighter. “I’ll call him now,” she said in a soft voice.

“Let’s go, kids,” Joaquin said again. 

“I think I am just resigning to the fact that that is what you’ve chosen to call us,” Fangs said. 

Betty ignored them and walked over to the train. She hauled her bag up the steps and heard the familiar footfalls of Cheryl behind her. They found seats in silence, and Betty slid in and propped herself next to the window. She didn’t want to be part of any conversation for the duration of their ride.

She turned her phone back on, and jumped when it buzzed with Jughead’s personal vibration.

**Beanie Boy- 10:39am:** i’m so sorry.

**Beanie Boy- 10:40am:** i'll be there tonight.

**Beanie Boy- 10:43am** i’m so fucking sorry, baby.

**Beanie Boy- 10:44am** i love you.

Betty looked at the four texts displayed on her lock screen and handed it to Cheryl, who took it. She looked at the texts and her expression turned stormy. She turned to Betty and said, “that’s a dick move.”

“The whole thing is straight fucking bullshit,” Betty said. “Will you hold onto it? I don’t want to even think about him.”

“Easy,” Cheryl said, and pocketed her phone. She leaned back so her back was pressed against Betty’s side. “You know, you have all the power here.”

“How?” Betty asked.

“Well, you won’t be texting him, but we’ll all be posting on social media everything that’s happening. And you, my love, are going to have an amazing time. And that boy loves you with his whole heart, but he fucked up. But he does love you and is going to come. So enjoy fucking with him for a bit before he gets there. He’ll hate it.”

“Interesting,” Betty said. “Wanna start now?”

They ran around New York like the socialites they weren’t, just as Veronica had promised. The first thing they did when they got to Grand Central Station was reenact the famous opening scene from Gossip Girl, with Betty, Cheryl and Veronica each acting as Serena Van Der Woodsen, and the rest acting as Lonely Boy. 

From there, two men dressed in chauffeur uniform, down to the hats, took their bags and put them into two different large black escalades. They split up into the groups that they drove to the train to, and looked in awe out of the window as they drove through the city. 

They pulled up to the Mandarin Oriental hotel around two-thirty, and their drivers unloaded their bags onto a luggage cart and wheeled them in. 

“Wait here,” Veronica said as she strode through the hotel lobby to the check in desk. Betty heard the concierge exclaim, “Miss. Lodge, so good to see you as always,” as Veronica approached. Betty spun in a slow circle as she looked at the glass sculpture in the middle of the room. There was a long leather couch that Joaquin and Fangs sat down on, which was placed in front of a grand glass and dark colored wood staircase. 

“This is wild,” Toni whispered in Betty’s ear. 

“No shit.”

Veronica walked towards them with a huge smile on her face. “Amazing,” she sighed. “They had our rooms ready for us knowing we’d be early, which is why I love this place so much. I also love the fact that the spa is open so we can go before our dinner reservations which are at nine.”

“We’re not eating dinner until nine?”

“We’re in New York, darling,” Veronica said, brushing her hand down Joaquin’s arm. “Nothing ever happens before nine.”

Betty laughed at her theatrics but followed her to the elevator anyway. Sweet Pea was stumbling over his shoes a bit as he looked around as well.

“My girlfriend is… really fucking rich,” he said quietly.

“Are you just realizing this now?” Betty asked.

“I’m realizing just _how_ rich she is right now.”

“Ah, yes. I remember when that happened to me. It takes a second to get used to. Just be thankful she isn’t buying you two-thousand dollar duffle bags and having them personally monogrammed for you.”

Sweet Pea sighed and slung his arm around Betty. “He told me he’s getting on the nine o’clock train tonight. And that he’ll meet us wherever we are.”

“Good for him,” Betty said lightly. Then she stepped away from him and linked her arms with Toni and Cheryl, who seemed to get the idea that she didn’t want to be bothered by anyone. 

They took the elevator up to the fifty-fourth floor where there were five suites at the end of the hall designated for them. 

“Half of us have Central Park views,” Veronica explained. “And the other half have Hudson River views.”

“There are nine of us, we can’t split that in half,” Joaquin pointed out.

“tHeRe ArE niNe oF uS,” Veronica mimicked, “it was a slight exaggeration, Quin. Do you and Kevin want Central Park or Hudson?”

“Central Park.”

“Cheryl and Toni?” 

“Hudson River, my dear,” Toni said, skipping over to Veronica and grabbing her key.

“Betty?”

“Hudson,” she said quickly. 

“Okay, great. That leaves Central Park for Fangs, me and Pea.”

“Can we take naps before festivities?” Kevin asked.

“Are you asking my permission?” 

“Yes, absolutely,” he said with a serious face.

“I really don’t care. And I mean that lovingly. But I’m stealing Betty Boop and Cheryl for an OG moment. We’ll be back later.”

Betty sighed and waved to everyone else as they went to take naps or shower or eat or do whatever because they weren’t being held captive by their oppressing thoughts and self doubt as well as their overbubbly best friend with daddy’s unlimited credit card.

“How are you doing, Betty Boop?” Veronica asked, linking her arms with Betty as they exited the hotel. It was still cold and Betty felt too underdressed. Veronica had made her change into a pair of very tight leather jeans and a black blouse on the train, _Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen_ style. She was also wearing Veronica’s purple faux fur faux feather bomber jacket and black fluffy ear-muffs. Her hair was down and the frizz had been tamed by some dry-shampoo and hairspray.

They hopped in an Uber and headed downtown towards the West Village. Veronica wanted to explore what their new neighborhood would be and take them to the building before she brought anyone else. 

She also wanted to stop at _What Goes Around Comes Around_ for vintage Chanel.

They pulled up to a beautiful building on Thompson St. There was a lobby and doorman to greet them, and they all were genuinely warm to Veronica. They took them up to the very top floor, where there were floor to ceiling windows in what looked like a duplex penthouse.

“V…” Cheryl said. “I thought we were living in two separate apartments.”

“We _were_ ,” Veronica said. “But this place became available, and it reminded me too much of the Van Der Woodsen/Bass/Humphrey apartment that I had to come check it out with you. We can still look at the apartments on the floor below, but I just love this one.”

It was beautiful. A little too industrial for Betty’s personal taste, but she knew that if they all moved in there together, it’d become more homey. Like the worn down couches from Thornhill and Veronica’s weird, erotic, paintings mixed with the chrome and stainless steel kitchen would be quite impressive.

They looked around more, went up stairs, peeked into the bathrooms, and Betty started to like it more and more. Not to mention, they were so high up that their views were incredible. She knew that no one could see in, but that they could see out.

“It’s like a dream,” Cheryl whispered.

“You’re not wrong.”

“Did you ever think…” Veronica started, walking up to them.

“Nope,” they said at the same time.

“Is it weird?”

“I mean, other people sure think it’s weird.”

“We’re not other people.”

“That’s for fucking sure.”

They decided to not even look at the other apartments, and just head out to shop before dinner. Veronica bought a dress and a pair of slacks for a whopping total of four-thousand dollars, and Cheryl found a pair of gold hoops that she wanted to get Toni. 

Betty even splurged for a pair herself, loving how they looked with her hair pulled slightly back. 

“You’ll wear them to dinner tonight, yeah? I packed something incredibly simple but sexy but elegant for you to wear to dinner and out clubbing.”

“Jughead’s getting on the nine o’clock train,” Betty blurted out.

“So he’ll meet us somewhere,” Veronica shrugged as they pushed open the door and headed out. They grabbed almond milk lattés from the café next door as they waited for their Uber.

“I needed this. I needed this time with my girls,” Cheryl said. “I love everyone else, I do. But it went from being us three to us _nine_.”

“Ten if you count Reggie,” Betty pointed out. 

“I… don't,” Cheryl said quietly. “Like he’s great and he seems to really like Fangsey but I seem to be uh… _protective_ over a man named _Fangs_ so.”

“He’s part of our little friend group,” Veronica said. “But he isn’t yet part of our family.”

“I do like that he isn’t mad or weirded out by us, or our plans. Or by our boundaries about us not wanting him to move with us.”

“It's weird e-fucking-nough that _we_ are doing this,” Veronica said. Her phone pinged and she said, “Uber’s here.”

Betty was in pants, and she was really fucking grateful for it. Veronica had dressed her in a pair of high waisted leather pants, a black lace body-suit and a black blazer to go on top. She told Betty that she couldn’t put her arms through the blazer, and had to just drape it over her shoulders.

“The blazer is Chanel. So don’t fucking lose it.”

They walked out into the hall, and all of the boys were standing there dressed head to toe in black.

All of the boys.

Leaning against the wall, phone in hand, was Jughead. He was wearing a pair of new black jeans and a black button shirt that was partially unbuttoned and the sleeves rolled up. 

He looked breathtaking. And Betty wanted to slap him.

* * *

Jughead had probably just lost the love of his life, but he had figured out what to do with the Serpents. 

Granted, it wouldn’t even fucking matter if he knew what he was doing if there wasn’t a girlfriend for him to move in with. 

There was a young Serpent, sixteen years old, who looked up to Jughead and the ways he had been turning the gang around. His name was Jeremy. After he and Betty had finished the night before and she had fallen asleep, he remembered him. He was perfect for this. He went to school on the Southside, he had the same values and morals as Jughead, and could be trusted.

And on top of all of that, he really _wanted_ to be part of the Serpents. 

So being the lying dick he was, he “convinced” Betty that she needed to go to Cheryl’s to pack because Veronica had stayed there the night before, left while she was showering, and didn’t text her for four hours.

Then he didn’t show up to get on the train that they had been planning to get on. He texted Betty, and selfishly hoped she’d text him back. 

She didn’t.

He spent the morning talking to Jeremy and his parents, who were also Serpents, about the situation, and they seemed cautiously optimistic, where Jeremy seemed like his head was going to explode with excitement. 

By the time they had finished with preliminary conversations, and made a plan to check in at the end of the week, it was 10:30am. 

He could have made the train, but he didn’t.

Instead he went to town on a punching bag with his bare knuckles and when that didn’t hurt enough he did the same to a brick wall. He continued until he was screaming in pain and anger and the stones were stained a new rusty red. 

He went up to his apartment, cleaned himself up, and texted Sweet Pea to let him know he was still coming. Then he started dialing. 

“Hey bro, what’s up?”

“Reg, what did I say about calling me bro?”

“Sorry.”

“Huhhh, no it’s fine,” Jughead sighed. “Question.”

“Answer.”

“How fast can you drive to New York City?”

“Eh, hour at the most?”

“How much would it cost for you to come get me from my place and take me?”

“Buy me a pizza and pay for gas?”

“Done.”

They made it to New York in fifty-seven minutes, with Reggie driving about ninety-something miles per hour as Jughead explained the situation.

“You fucked up,” Reggie said as they pulled up in front of the hotel.

“Here,” Jughead said, throwing a hundred on the front seat. “You're the best out of all of us.”

He heard Reggie say something in the background, but he couldn’t decipher it, because he was already calling Sweet Pea, and letting him know he was downstairs. 

When he saw him, he was wearing an all black dress shirt and jeans and had the most angry expression on his face that Jughead had ever seen. He didn’t even try talking to him, as he knew from the look on his face that he’d get his own smashed in if he tried anything.

But Sweet Pea broke the silence.

“What happened to your hands?”

“The brick wall out back.”

“She’s not gonna like that,” Sweet Pea said in a dark voice. “She’s not going to like a lot of things.”

Jughead just nodded and continued to look forward. When they reached the fifty-fourth floor, they stepped out of the elevator and Sweet Pea led Jughead to Fangs’s room where the guys were getting ready.

When they stepped in, everyone turned to look at him. There was silence for a moment before Kevin said, “glad you finally came to your fucking senses.”

“She probably will stop talking to you again,” Joaquin admitted, and Jughead sighed.

“I know.”

“What were you even doing?” Joaquin pressed.

“I can’t tell you until I talk to her.”

There were no other comments. They all knew it was the right thing to do.

“Hi,” he said lamely, as she approached him.

“What happened to your hands?”

_Ouch._ “The brick wall out back.”

“Hmm,” she said and nodded. “Is anything broken?”

“No.”

“Well I’m really glad to hear that,” she replied. 

There was no emotion or expression in her voice. She wasn’t yelling at him, or fighting him, or even ignoring him. She was treating him factually. 

It was so much worse.

“Veronica said if we don’t hurry up we’ll be late,” she said, and walked towards the elevator. They waited for it to arrive and Betty pressed the button to go down. She stood on one side of the elevator and he stood on the other. Usually, they’d make out aggressively until the doors opened, but instead she stared straight ahead.

“You look beautiful, Betty Cooper,” he said softly.

But she didn’t say anything in return. Instead, Jughead saw her wipe a tear from her face and his own heart shattered to a million pieces. He stepped to her. He knew it was selfish, but he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead until the bell dinged and the doors opened.

Betty pushed him off of her and his stomach twisted in knots. She continued to look ahead and not meet his eyes.

As the doors opened and she stepped off, he followed her closely. He grabbed her hand and stopped her.

“Betty…”

But she still didn’t say anything. There was no emotion in her eyes as she closed them, lifted his hand to her lips and kissed his open knuckles. Then she let go of his hand and walked out the door to where their friends were waiting.

And just like that, they weren’t even talking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come on Tuesday.
> 
> Come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee
> 
> Until then...
> 
> xx  
> BB


	20. Still Love // (Nothing But Love For You)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni wanted to slam Cheryl’s head against the wall, but not in a fun way. Her girlfriend was running around Thornhill flipping out about Jughead and Betty and Toni just wanted her to shut up for twenty seconds so they could have a normal human conversation about the situation.
> 
> A situation, mind you, that no one else needed to be a part of.
> 
> Cheryl was a meddler, and Toni knew that from the moment she locked eyes with her on her first day at Riverdale. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she checked out Toni. But Toni watched her eyes turn stormy as she looked at Betty and Jughead, and Toni knew for an absolute fact that Cheryl was one-hundred percent trouble.
> 
> Only two days later, when Toni and Jughead pulled up to Pop’s to find everyone yelling, Veronica in a choke hold and Joaquin pale faced, Toni knew that Cheryl had been part of instigating it.
> 
> But when she finally and officially introduced herself to Toni in the parking lot once things had calmed down, Toni saw the sadness in her eyes for only a moment, and also knew, the Cheryl was one-hundred percent human.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii!!!
> 
> Quick lil note! It's not Tuesday! Schedule is a mess! I love you! Not a Choni Chap (completely) but a Choni Summary
> 
> Disclaimer as usual!!

_Broken Clocks — SZA_

**(KevQuin)**

“Do you know what happened?” Joaquin asked Kevin. They were laying in Joaquin’s bedroom, Kevin sitting against the cool wall of the metal trailer, Joaquin laying his head at the foot of the bed with his legs strewn lazily across Kevin’s lap. 

“I just know Betty is furious. But I don’t even think she’s mad about what happened. I think she is more mad about jumping the gun and not talking to him.”

“I think we all jumped the gun to be honest,” Joaquin mused. “I mean, we still have no idea what he did in Riverdale. And even though he’s in a gang and entitled to secrets, he’s also our family. More than half of us are in the same gang!”

“Half. Reggie is from Riverdale.”

“You know what I mean,” Joaquin scowled.

“But families _do_ keep secrets,” Kevin said, sending Joaquin a pointed look. “I mean, I didn’t come out to my dad until I was fifteen and he didn’t tell me about the Mayor until they were already engaged.”

“We’re not-“ 

“It doesn’t matter, Quin. People are entitled to their secrets.”

Joaquin sighed, and Kevin shifted his body so he was laying on the pillows and Joaquin’s arms wrapped around his right leg.

They laid there, tangled in each other’s limbs, fully clothed and breathing for an hour. They didn’t talk, or argue about who’s right it was to keep secrets or right to know what. 

That’s what their relationship was. They stayed behind the rest of their group and watched in awe as the other relationships- romantic and not- bloom into what they were.

They spent incredible amounts of time looking at everyone else. Cheryl and Toni’s relationship wouldn’t exist without Cheryl’s pure need for chaos and Toni’s need for adventure. They complimented each other.

Joaquin’s friendship with Cheryl was sparked by one drunken night on his end and a lonely night on hers. She was the last person that he ever assumed to be friends with, but their emotional similarities made for a friendship that was irreplaceable. 

Joaquin’s friendship with Veronica wasn’t really a friendship per say, but an understanding between two people that they didn’t have to talk in order to take care of each other. Their relationship didn’t need to be loud and out there like everyone else’s. It could just be what it was.

Betty was the glue of their family. She was the one who broke through to Jughead and showed him that it was okay to love and be loved, thus, opening a door for the rest of them to create the family they were in.

When Joaquin first met Kevin, he was sitting in the back of the library, trying to reach a book on one of the very top shelves. Joaquin, not wanting to fall or fit into a romantic comedy stereotype, asked if he needed help, rather than just approaching him and taking the book off of the wall.

“Thanks,” Kevin whispered. Joaquin smiled and turned on his heel to walk away. “Wait,” Kevin called, and caught up to Joaquin, catching his arm, “you know Betty.”

“Maybe,” Joaquin said tersely, knowing from experience that disclosing any information without reason or motive could be the thing that had you laid out. “Why?”

“I’ve been friends with her since we were five,” Kevin said. “I’m not sure if I should give you credit to her newfound happiness with one Serpent Prince, but it’s greatly appreciated.”

Joaquin said nothing and studied the boy. He was wearing slacks and a tie and a sweater vest and he didn’t know why, but he found it very attractive. Not giving any insight into his relationship with Betty, Joaquin asked, “what’s your name?”

“What’s yours,” the boy immediately retorted.

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Well I’m not telling you mine until you tell me yours.”

Joaquin gently pried his arm out of Kevin’s grasp and walked away. “Then I guess you’ll never know.”

He was almost all of the way out of the library when he heard the boy call, “Kevin Keller.”

_Fuck._

“He’s the fucking Sheriff’s son, Tone. What the hell am I supposed to do?” He took a deep inhale of his cigarette and cursed loudly. They were driving to Pop’s to visit Betty on her shift and so Joaquin could grab her notes from their Chem class.

Upon walking in, the boy, Kevin Keller, from the library was sitting at the counter, chatting animatedly with Betty about something that Joaquin couldn’t hear. When Betty caught their eye, she skipped around the counter to hug them all and introduce them.

“Toni, Joaquin. This is Kevin. Kevin, this is Toni and Joaquin,” Betty said, leading Joaquin by the hand over to the counter and sitting him down next to Kevin. They locked eyes and smiled at each other. Joaquin ordered a basket of onion rings and a root beer float and paid for Kevin’s meal and then wrote his number on a receipt and the next night they were fucking in the back of his truck.

Sheriff’s son be damned.

They spent the next two weeks, while their two best friends weren’t talking to each other but eye-fucking at every chance they got, doing the same. Through his shy and subdued legitimate courtship with Kevin, Joaquin learned that he really liked ripping up Twizzlers and putting them in his popcorn when he watched a movie. He tried not to eat dairy but Kraft Mac N’ Cheese was his ultimate kryptonite. He knew that his dad was only tentatively okay with him being out, and that he was marrying the Mayor.

Joaquin knew he was falling in love with the boy whose upbringing was the opposite of his, and should have created so much tension and animosity between them.

But they only fell further in love.

“If they broke up…” Joaquin trailed off, coming back to the present day and Kevin massaging his calves.

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because it’s Betty and Jughead. And stubbornness and miscommunication is much less dramatic and ugly then seeing someone hold a gun to another guy’s head.”

**(Choni)**

Toni wanted to slam Cheryl’s head against the wall, but not in a fun way. Her girlfriend was running around Thornhill flipping out about Jughead and Betty and Toni just wanted her to shut up for twenty seconds so they could have a normal human conversation about the situation.

A situation, mind you, that no one else needed to be a part of.

Cheryl was a meddler, and Toni knew that from the moment she locked eyes with her on her first day at Riverdale. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she checked out Toni. But Toni watched her eyes turn stormy as she looked at Betty and Jughead, and Toni knew for an absolute fact that Cheryl was one-hundred percent trouble.

Only two days later, when Toni and Jughead pulled up to Pop’s to find everyone yelling, Veronica in a choke hold and Joaquin pale faced, Toni knew that Cheryl had been part of instigating it.

But when she finally and officially introduced herself to Toni in the parking lot once things had calmed down, Toni saw the sadness in her eyes for only a moment, and also knew, the Cheryl was one-hundred percent human.

“BABE,” Toni finally screamed as the chattering of her voice and the clacking of her heels in the drafty house officially broke her. “Sit the fuck down! Just breathe, and they’re going to be fine! It’s not even our problem to begin with”

Cheryl froze in her spot and took a visible deep breath. Then she folded her knees and sat criss-cross on the floor, arms splayed out behind her, holding her up. She heaved another huge sigh and then groaned, “I know I’m overreacting.”

_Well that’s a start._

“I mean… maybe a little,” Toni said with a smirk. “They’re not our parents or our kids, so we need to let them figure it out. Kevin just texted me saying Joaquin wanted to get involved too, which makes sense, since you’re the same fucking person.”

“We are not,” Cheryl said with a laugh, and crawled over to where Toni was sitting. Toni grabbed her foot and took off her heels and dug her thumbs deep into the balls of her feet. 

“They went two weeks without speaking, its been seventy-two hours. And they’re still living together. You don’t even know that they’re still upset with each other. You’re just going off of a cryptic text from Jughead.”

When they had got off the train the night before, Jughead led Betty to his Jeep and the two of them drove off without saying anything to anyone else. The seven of them left all exchanged looks of worry and doubt, and Cheryl received a text from Jughead that just said:

 **Jughead Jones— 4:34pm:** It’s handled.

“Like literally what the fuck does that mean?” Veronica asked them. They were walking back to their cars, and Cheryl hugged Joaquin, Kevin and Fangs before sliding into the back seat of Sweet Pea’s truck.

“It means it’s handled,” Sweet Pea said without any emotion. Cheryl knew that other than Jughead and Betty, this was probably hardest on him. Which was utterly ridiculous and annoying but Cheryl understood completely, and knew that if this was happening with Joaquin and Kevin, she’d feel the same.

Toni brought Cheryl back to reality with a swift kiss on the lips. Cheryl looked up and smiled at her. When Cheryl first saw Toni in the hallway, whispering to Betty and making eyes at her, something spiked inside Cheryl that she didn’t think was possible.

After Cheryl’s world collapsed when her brother died, she figured the only people she had room to love anymore were Betty and Veronica. It was just an honest fact. She had an intense bias and prejudice against anyone who wore a Serpent insignia, and decided that she would spend the rest of her life hating anyone who wore it.

She was ready to kill Sweet Pea in the diner. She was ready to slap Betty across the face when she learned that her precious “Beanie Boy” was actually Jughead Jones. She was ready to send out a firing squad and demand to know why Principle Weatherbee allowed the Southside students to come to Riverdale.

But then she started to spend more time with Toni. At the time, the only people who knew of Cheryl’s sexuality were Betty, Veronica and Jason. And each would take it to the grave, some would, literally. But Toni never pressured her into doing anything she wasn’t ready for. They would spend time talking during free periods. Outside of school. In the parking lot of Pop’s while waiting for Betty and Jughead to leave at ten. 

It wasn’t perfect, their relationship, and Cheryl knew that. There was so much that she herself needed to work on, that she felt that it could fall apart if she let it. 

But she didn’t want it to.

So she held on to Toni as tight as she could and prayed that her friends really had it handled.

Even though she knew it wasn’t her problem to handle.

**(SweetVee)**

Veronica made Sweet Pea go down on her for longer than necessary when they got back to his place after getting off the train and she had gotten him to become a person again. Sweet Pea lived in his parent’s old trailer, and at first, Veronica was very opposed to spending time with him there, but grew to love the “old piece of rust on wheels” as time went on.

After they had sex for the first time in her designated room at Cheryl’s, Veronica threw herself headfirst into their relationship. She figured that it probably freaked him out a bit at first, but she felt it was entirely necessary. 

When she saw how he interacted with Betty, she was wildly jealous. Not because she thought that Sweet Pea had romantic feelings for Betty, because he made it very clear that he didn’t. But she was jealous because she had never seen someone love someone else that way. 

But how he loved her was so different than _she_ had ever been loved. She was protected. She was cared for. She was treated like a person and not like a rich object that could be exploited, like her past flings had treated her. 

“Why are you so grumpy?” she asked as he slammed the door behind them. 

“I’m not,” he grumbled, and sunk down into the couch and tipped his head back and closed his eyes. 

Veronica walked over to him and slung her legs around his waist and curled himself onto a ball in his lap. She pressed her face into his chest and kissed his neck and shoulders until his arms wrapped around hers and she felt his body relax.

“What the hell happened dude?” he asked her as he kissed the top of her head. She shrugged and inhaled deeply. She didn’t know, but she also didn’t care as much as she maybe should. She didn’t really think either Betty or Jughead was right or wrong. She just thought that they made stupid and childish mistakes, and would be easily fixed.

A communication breakdown was not going to be the thing that split them up.

She honestly thought the real issue was Jughead lying about texting Pea about her. One, it was stupid because it was easily a checkable fact. But two, it brought _them_ into whatever problem Betty and Jughead were having. 

But, Betty knew that she wasn’t at Cheryl’s, so not acknowledging his lie was _also_ stupid and childish _and_ brought them into it.

So Veronica wasn’t getting involved.

“I’ll make you Mac N’ Cheese if you stop whining,” Veronica said in a sing song voice as she lifted her head and looked at him. He was trying to his his smile behind an exaggerated frown and closed eyes, but Veronica could see his raised eyebrows and knew that she had him.

“From scratch? Or from the box?”

“Well seeing as _someone_ didn’t go to the grocery store and get the things to make Mac N’ Cheese from scratch, you’ll have to settle for Annie’s White Cheddar,” she teased.

“Square deal,” he grinned and kissed her on the bridge of her nose. She started to climb off of him when he squeezed her back against him and whispered, “not yet.”

She nodded and lay her head back where it was on his chest and drew circles on his side with her fingers. If anyone looked at Sweet Pea, they wouldn’t assume he was the most clingy and snuggly person in the world. 

Honestly, it was one of the first things that attracted her to him in the beginning. When they were in Pop’s and he had her pressed against him, she felt overly aroused (yet also fuming), because he seemed like the type of person to save his physical affection for rare and only sexual occasions. 

Which is what she liked.

But as Jughead and Betty spent two weeks not talking, and Toni and Cheryl started to bond and then Kevin was introduced to the group, Veronica started spending more time with Sweet Pea. He’d drive her home from cheer practice, carry her bags to and from her classes (when he wasn’t stopping Archie from attacking Betty) and texting her good morning and good night everyday.

When he finally pinned her up against the side of his truck after one late night cheer practice and kissed her like she’d never been kissed before, she knew she was done.

And when he fucked her the way he did at Cheryl’s party?

Yeah, no. It was over.

But she was pretty convinced that he was the type of person who didn’t need physical affection like her. Only, it was the opposite. He needed attention all the time, whether it was mental, emotional or physical, Sweet Pea needed someone to pay attention to him.

Which was why, as time went on, Veronica became less envious and more grateful for his friendship with Betty. Because the attention that he needed to both give and receive in mass groups could be put on her and Jughead and everyone else, and Veronica’s anxiety about attention could go away.

And then when they were alone, she could be everything he needed.

When Veronica was younger, her father’s creepy associates would spend too much of their time doting on her in ways that as she got older felt sick and uncomfortable. When Sweet Pea was younger, he was abandoned by his parents and was raised by a gang, who practically left him to his own devices. He grew hard and stoney and didn’t allow people in until Jughead got the chance to beat the shit out of him two years ago.

What Veronica felt for Sweet Pea was nothing like she’d ever imagine love to be. She watched her parents be cold and distant to each other for her entire childhood, and figured that that was the way that love should look like.

Not snuggled on the couch of a dilapidated trailer arguing about which brand of boxed Mac N’ Cheese was best in order to distract themselves from the ever growing fear that their little family could fall apart but deciding not to care as his tongue slid inside of her.

* * *

Jughead slammed the door behind him and looked at Betty. She had the same expression on her face as he knew he did. A mix of anger and sadness. They stood there frozen for at least five minutes before Betty said, “I’m going to take a shower. Try not to fucking leave again,” and walked off. 

“Elizabeth Middle Name I don’t Remember Cooper,” Jughead growled and she froze. “I swear to the fucking god I don’t believe in that if you walk away and get into that shower that we are going to have even bigger problems than we do already.”

She made no movement for a few seconds, before walking away and to the bathroom. Jughead stood there silently and heard the door lock behind her. He let out a scream but didn’t do anything else about it. He stomped over to the kitchen, pulled a bottle of scotch out from the cabinet above the fridge and took a swig straight from the bottle.

He took a few more deep breaths and tried to get his breathing under control. When that didn’t work, he marched over to the bathroom and slammed on the door.

“If you don’t unlock this door so we can talk, I’m kicking it in,” he yelled through the closed door. This was not how he wanted to talk to Betty about the situation. He knew he fucked up by not texting her and not calling and not sticking to their plans, but he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to focus on anything in New York if he hadn’t handled the situation.

Not that he was even able to focus now anyway.

After she had walked away from him in the lobby of the hotel, Jughead almost broke down. He knew that at some point they would have their first fight, have their first real disagreement, but he didn’t think she would walk away.

He knew that in reality, she didn’t walk away from _them,_ from their relationship. But she walked away from _him._

Except she didn’t. Because she sat next to him at dinner and didn’t shy away from his touch when he put his hand on her leg. She danced with him all night, when she wasn’t dancing with Joaquin or Cheryl or Veronica. She went home with him and they did their normal routine of brushing their teeth and washing their faces and pulling down the comforter at the same time.

She still tucked herself under his arm when he opened them up to her, but she laid with her back to his side rather than curling against his chest and Jughead felt a pang in his heart when he woke up the next morning and she wasn’t there.

He later found out that she snuck out early in the morning to run on the treadmill at the hotel’s gym and Jughead was reminded of the time when she still didn’t know his name and he stalked her during an early morning run.

It felt like years ago.

“Betty,” he said quietly, fist against the door, forehead pressing against it. When she didn’t answer, he took a step back and tried to logically think through what he was about to do. 

And then he kicked the door open.

And she didn’t even scream.

_Fuck you, Betty Cooper._

“I see you decided to break down the door as a way of telling me you were leaving,” she quipped angrily. “Or maybe you just can’t take a fucking hint that I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Oh I know you don’t want to talk to me, Betty. You’ve ignored me for the last two days and haven’t even attempted to hear an apology or explanation. You’ve just decided that I’m the ultimate bad guy for making a mistake.”

“It wasn’t a mistake,” she cried, still not peaking out from the shower door. “You deliberately left me in your apartment—”

“Oh so now it’s just my apartment, not ours?”

“Well it’s yours when you fucking leave me at seven o’clock in the morning with no fucking explanation of where you were going, ignore _everyone’s_ calls and then don’t fucking show up, Jughead! I counted on you to show up!”

She was trying to hide it, but Jughead knew that she was crying. 

_Fuck me._

He slid the shower open and stepped in, fully clothed, down to the socks and everything. 

“What the fuck?!” Betty screamed. But Jughead just put his hands on her waist and backed her into the shower wall. He knew that the tiles would be cold, and hoped to the god he didn’t believe in that it would mentally cool her off too.

“I am in the shower in a pair of jeans, wool socks, two sweatshirts and my beanie. Are you ready to fucking listen to me?” Betty stood there, eyes wide for a moment before looking down and not saying anything. Jughead exhaled sharply and closed his eyes.

“Fine, you want to be stubborn? I’ll fucking show you stubborn.” And then he grabbed her by the chin and tilted her head up to look at him. Her eyes were dark with what could have been perceived as anger, but was really lust. He grabbed her throat, gently, and brought her face to his. 

At first, her lips didn’t respond to his, but he pressed on, knowing that she would push him away if she didn’t want this, and that he would respect her. 

Except her arm quickly snaked around his neck and she pressed him closer to her body. He pushed his tongue through her lips and fought hers for dominance. She didn’t let him win. He didn’t let her win. And they spent countless minutes moaning and groping each other until Jughead’s already too wet, already too tight jeans were straining even harder against his dick. 

He roughly spun Betty around so her chest and face were pressed against the shower wall. He unbuttoned his jeans and painstakingly took them off and threw them onto the bathroom floor with a wet thump. Next he took of his beanie, which was the driest of them all, and threw it out too. Pulling off his sweatshirts was the hardest part, and he had to very carefully move his body in order to get his socks off. 

Betty was still standing with her chest and face to the shower wall, but this time her legs were spread and her ass was out, ready for Jughead.

He leaned against her, thrusting his hard on against her ass. “You stubborn girl, Betty Cooper,” he growled into her ear. Then he kissed slowly down her neck, making sure to bite down hard in the places that he knew she liked most, with probably more aggression than was needed.

He slid his hand down the front of her body and twisted her clit between his fingers before sliding two of them deep inside of her.

“Are you ready to talk to me yet?” he asked in a low growl, but she just mewled and ground herself harder against his fingers. He quickly took them out of her and brought them up to her lips, making sure she sucked them clean.

“There’s my good girl,” he said quietly. He gently kissed the side of her face and neck and asked again, but this time in a kinder tone, “are you ready to listen?”

She said her first words since he got in the shower with her. “No.”

“Wrong answer,” he said. He aligned his dick with her center and asked, “do you like torturing me, Betty Cooper?” She nodded. He kissed the back of her neck and mumbled against her skin, “yes?”

It was a yes that meant both “yes I love to torture you,” and,

“yes. I want this.”

He slid in gently and then, when they both had a moment to adjust themselves, like thrust into her with wild abandon. He wrapped her hair around his hand and pulled. She snapped her head back so it rested on his shoulder as he pulled her body against his. 

She turned her face to him and he growled, “no, I don’t want to look at you,” a delivered a swift but hard slap to her ass. She screamed in pleasure and he whispered roughly against her ear, “are you ready to talk to me yet?”

She shook her head, and this time, Jughead knew that she was only doing it to get a rise out of him.

He loved it.

He pulled out of her and spun her around, forcing her to drop to her knees. She gripped the base of his dick almost too tightly and licked one long slow lick from the base to the tip before sliding him all the way down her throat. He moaned and once again fisted his hands in her hair and roughly slid up and down her throat. After a few minutes she tapped his thigh lightly and he pulled all the way out of her mouth and brought her to her feet.

He looked at her, her eyelashes covered in tiny droplets from the spray of the water behind them. Her lips and face red and swollen from him both fucking her mouth and the tears she was shedding before. 

He tucked one hand under her chin and asked with his eyes the question on repeat, and finally, she nodded. He turned around to face the water himself, feeling his own tears forming, and let some fall when she pressed her body against her back and ran her hands up and down his stomach.

She was his, and she always would be, and now, they could talk about it.

He turned off the water, flung open the shower door, and stepped out of the shower. He handed Betty her white towel and laughed at the image of the pink Strawberry Shortcake one that hung next to it.

He laughed as he remembered Sweet Pea tying it around his neck like a cape and running through the bar yelling, “this is what Jughead dries his dick with!”

He laughed as he remembered the dumbfounded look on Betty’s face when she saw him pull it out of the box. 

He laughed as he looked at Betty who had that same dumbfounded look now as he stood naked, dripping wet, half crying, half laughing while wrapped in a child’s towel.

“What?” she asked, combing through her hair with her fingers.

“I-I’m just re-remembering the l-l-look on your f-ace-ace when you s-saw me p-p-p-pull this out of the b-b-ox,” he choked out. She furrowed her brow even further which made him laugh even harder. 

He took a few calming breaths as she placed her hand on his shoulder. He finally stopped laughing and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, and lowered his forehead down to hers.

“I am too,” she whispered back after a moment. He lifted his head to look at her eyes, which were full of pure and genuine love.

“I want to explain,” he started, but she cut him off by kissing him hard on the lips. He groaned into the kiss and lifted her up off the ground and spun them so she was sitting on the sink. He leaned them back so his hand was pressing against the mirror and she made quick work of removing the towel from his waist. 

It collapsed to the ground with a soft thump and he undid the weird knot she had tied in hers. He ducked his head down to attack her left nipple with his mouth and used his other hand to fondle the right. He switched sides and after a few moments, he moved his kisses further down her body until he was kissing her outer lips. He breathed gently against her core before standing up quickly and kissing her hard again.

She opened her mouth to him, but he didn’t stay there long, moving himself back down between her knees. She spread her legs wide and Jughead draped them lazily over his shoulders. He moved one finger up and down her slit and attacked her clit with his mouth, sucking gently on it before licking before sucking and alternating between. 

He inserted two fingers into her and scissored them inside and against her g-spot. He felt her inner walls flutter around his hand, heard her screaming his name and felt her pulling his hair.

“Cum for me, baby,” he mumbled against her, ultimately tipping her over the edge. He helped her ride out her orgasm and then moved his fingers out of her softly. He placed them in her mouth again, and she sucked them greedily, looking at Jughead with dark eyes. 

As he stood, she wrapped her legs around his waist, moving them from his shoulders, and guided him to her center. He eyed her thoroughly, fully prepared to have sex end there, and then try to have a coherent conversation without passing out from sheer exhaustion. But she slid him inside of her and he braced himself on the mirror. 

It was the most aggressive that he had ever fucked her. He could feel every bone in her body shake with each thrust and he felt the pull of her all the way through his. He kept his forehead pressed to her, trying not to think about how sweaty they actually were, and how they were going to have to take a shower later (again), and how his arms were shaking from both pleasure and pain. 

When he came, he told her her loved her. He called out her name as she scratched out his back and called out his. He might have said he was sorry, he might have said he missed her. He might have uttered expletives. He didn’t really know.

But he did know he told her he loved her over and over. 

He collapsed against her shoulder and she slid her body closer to him, with him still inside her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and kissed his chest and his neck and anywhere her lips could reach. 

He met her lips as he pulled out of her, and used his towel to clean them both up. She hopped off of the counter with shaky knees, and led them, naked and sweaty to their room. They passed Hot Dog’s empty cage and Jughead reminded himself to text Joaquin or Kevin and tell them to go pick him up from the Serpent that was watching them.

Betty pulled the covers down off of Jughead’s bed and crawled into it. She held her arms open and Jughead took it as an invitation to lie down next to her and bury himself in her chest.

He would be perfectly happy to die between her breasts.

He had every intention of talking to her about everything that happened, but she was stroking his wet hair and mumbling something against the top of his head that felt loving, even if he couldn’t hear it.

He promised himself he was only going to close his eyes for twenty-minutes, and then wake up to make them dinner and talk. 

He really did.

It was 11:43pm when he woke up.

Well, that’s what his clock said, so it could have been wrong. Betty wasn’t laying next to him, but when he squinted through the darkness, he was a figure that was so clearly hers moving through the darkness trying to find clothes.

“I’m awake, you know,” he said, voice thick with sleep.

She jumped and yelled, “Juggie!”

“Oh, I’m Juggie now?”

“I mean I could get mad again and call you Forsythe, but that’s only for when I’m very mad.”

“What, you’re not going to call me dear?”

“No, that’s only when I’m mildly cross,” she said with a smile. 

“Where are we at now?”

“Goddess divine. Or, Juggie in your case.”

“I’m offended, Elizabeth “Bennet” Cooper,” he teased, “you don’t think I’m a Goddess?”

“Not a divine one,” she quipped, flicking on the lamp. “We’ve watched that movie too many times.”

“No, baby. _You’ve_ watched that movie too many times.”

“Have not!”

“What’s the first line?”

“Mr. Bennett, haven’t you heard! Netherfield Park has let at last!”

They were silent for a moment before Jughead raised a pointed brow at her and she said, “ugh, c’mon. Food’s here.”

“There’s food?” he asked, catching the sweats that she threw at him. “You know, you-” but he was cut off. There were candles and burgers and milkshakes and a bottle of vodka.

He looked at Betty and she shrugged. “I’m ready to listen.”

He sighed and walked over to her, wrapping her in his arms and kissing the top of her head. “You stubborn fucking girl.” He let go over her, but grabbed her hand and led her to the kitchen counter. Betty propped herself on the table, letting her foot fall on the seat of Jughead’s stool. He placed one hand on her bare thigh and grabbed the strawberry milkshake with the other. 

She pulled out one of the burgers labeled, “Jughead,” and handed it to him. The writing was in her hand writing and he once again, raised his eyebrows at her.

“I opened them when Fangs brought them over,” she answered. “I didn’t leave. I’ve made _that_ mistake before.”

“As have I,” Jughead breathed out and unwrapped his burger. Betty did the same and they sat in silence while they took their first bites. 

“Where should we start?” Jughead asked, looking up at her.

“Can I go first? I guarantee it’s shorter,” she said with a smirk.

“I mean, I guess…” Jughead trailed off with a smile. She ducked down and kissed the top of his head.

“I’m sorry I walked away in the lobby. I was so fucking angry and I didn’t want to cause a scene, because I knew that if we tried to talk then and there, that I’d lose it. But then as we were in the car and at dinner and at the club, I realized how easy it would have been to just talk to you. Pull you aside, meet up with them later.

“So yesterday morning, I went for a run and thought about that time I caught you watching me from your Jeep at like six-thirty in the morning when I barely knew you and didn’t even know your name, and it made me realize that I don’t want to go back to not knowing your name, or being too stubborn to talk to you, or anything from the before.

“I missed out on too many New York moments that I had planned in my mind this trip that it made me so sad. But then, you weasel, had to go text our friends ‘It’s handled,’ and then you broke down the shower door!”

“Wait, how does me texting them equate to me breaking down the door?”

“Because I locked it when you didn’t get your way!”

“But couldn’t you have just talked to me and confronted me?”

“Couldn’t you have just kept everyone out of our business?”

“It wasn’t everyone, just Red!”

She glared at him. “Cheryl _is_ everyone. Even if she wasn’t still standing with all of them, she still would have texted.”

“So you went from mad to sad to mad…. to what?”

“I went from mad to sad to mad to deliciously fucked to realizing that we just need to have a conversation.”

Jughead glared at her playfully. “Oh right, why didn’t I think of that.”

He pulled her down to kiss her and then popped a fry into her mouth. “Is it my turn? That wasn’t very quick?”

“Forsythe Pendelton Beanie Boy Jughead Jones the third…” she said.

“Is that what you’re going to say before you say ‘I do?’”

“Of course,” she replied with a wink, not missing a beat.

“Hmm,” he said and took a bite of his burger. He gave himself the twenty seconds it took for him to swallow the bite to gather his thoughts.

“First, I want to say sorry for lying to you about Veronica. And I know I need to say to her and Pea for dragging them into something that didn’t even need to be a thing in the first place. Because they would never do that to us. 

“I am _so_ sorry for leaving. I am sorry for not communicating with you for hours. It was only after everything happened that I remembered that first night we spent together, not the first time we had sex, but the first time we kissed and you woke up before me and stole the Jeep to get Pop’s. And I was so scared when I couldn’t see you, Betty. I thought after two weeks of not talking I botched everything by kissing you. The only difference between that and now is, when I called you, you picked up on the first ring. And when you called me, I ignored you for hours.

“But I couldn’t sleep the night before, worried about what the hell I was supposed to do about the Serpents. After I saw my dad I was just totally shaken up about the whole then and what was right and what was wrong, and I knew that if I didn’t find a suitable solution that I wouldn’t be able to leave and start my life outside of Riverdale with you.

“But you know, ignoring and abandoning you before a trip _to_ New York was not the right move to make if I was trying to ensure that we had a future _in_ New York.”

He took a deep breath and looked at her. She wasn’t angry or sad. She wasn’t happy, but she wasn’t upset, and that was more than what Jughead felt he could even ask for.

“And then I figured it out. I figured out what to do about the whole thing. There’s this kid, you’ll actually really like him. His name is Jeremy. He’s sixteen, really green, and wants the best for the Serpents. His parents are older than my dad and remember when my grandfather was leader, so they have very similar values that I do.

“I can trust him, with the Serpents, and I can trust him to report back to me. And I don’t have to get someone out of jail who I threatened with a gun. And I don’t have to help my dad, who, while we did have a hug it out moment, I don’t want to see all the time. I don’t have to be afraid of the community I built crumbling when we leave. 

“That is,” he said, looking up at her again, “If I’m still leaving.”

She reached for the strawberry milkshake and took a huge sip. Looking down at him she said, “we’re going to have to find a diner that serves burgers and fries that are comparable to these.”

Jughead stood up quickly and pressed his lips against hers, licking the shake that lingered off of her lips. “There’s nothing as good as Pop’s burgers and shakes.”

“True,” she said with a smile around her sip.

“But… you’ll still have me?”

“You’ll have to go in front of a panel of pretty angry judges, but…”

He kissed her again. “But really, I am so sorry.”

“Juggie,” she breathed, “I am so fucking happy you found someone for the Serpents, got closure with your dad _and_ was able to meet us in New York. I didn’t understand it then. But I get it now. Your Serpent family is just as, if not more, important than your other family. And you can’t just give us all of your attention all the time, because then it will implode.”

As she said this, she stroked the bandages he placed on his knuckles on the train ride home. “Don’t do this again,” she said angrily. He nodded and smiled at her, so grateful that she was his and that she understood. They both over and under and inappropriately acted/reacted, but they understood.

“This communicating this is fun,” Jughead said with a laugh. She smacked him on the chest and then pointed at his nose.

“If this happens again though, I’ll let Sweet Pea beat you up again.”

“And I’ll let him. He was so pissed when I called him and told him I was on my way.”

“Oh my god!”

“What!” he yelled back, jumping away from her and preparing himself to be hit in the face.

“How the fuck did you get to New York so fast?” 

“Oh!” he laughed, snuggling back into her. “I paid Reggie a hundred bucks.”

* * *

**(Feggie)**  
“You’re telling me that we’re supposed to go off of an ‘It’s handled’ text from Betty as confirmation that everything is fine?” Fangs asked, pacing the length of Reggie’s room. Unlike Jughead’s text to Cheryl, Betty’s text was to all of them, including Reggie _and_ Jughead.

An hour before, Fangs had dropped off a huge bag of food from Pop’s that Betty had called in. She asked him to leave it by the door and text her when he got there.

Either because they were going to be fucking or fighting.

Or both.

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense that they would lie and say it over text. They strike me as the type of people to hold a family meeting and make someone restrain Cheryl and Sweet Pea,” Reggie said, catching Fangs as he passed him and pulling him onto his lap.

“I guess you’re right,” Fangs conceded.

“Of course I am, babe. I’m Reggie Mantle.”

“That can’t be your answer for everything.”

“It sure as fuck can!”

Fangs laughed and kissed Reggie on the forehead. He climbed off of his lap and sat next to him in bed. Resting his head on his shoulder he asked, “what if they’re _not?_ ”

“Well,” Reggie said, stroking Fangs’s head and kissing it. “Lucky you have the only partner _not_ moving to New York.”

Then he got punched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you so much for being patient with me as I figure this all out babes. All of your sweet messages on Tumblr are so lovely!!
> 
> That being said, come tumble with me! @blackberry-beee
> 
> Going to try and keep my Tuesday's for Overture and Thursday/Friday for the compound again as I am starting to feel like a human!
> 
> Let me know what you think, and again, I love you!
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	21. So I Guess U (Want) The Vibe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I. Am. Fine!” Jughead head Betty yell as he opened the door to their apartment. She went back with Reggie, Sweet Pea and Veronica and Jughead assumed they would have just dropped her off. Not follow her up the stairs.
> 
> “Betty! Just let us wait until Jughead gets back!” he heard Veronica slur.
> 
> “I’m back,” Jughead said quietly.
> 
> “I am not a child! I don’t need to wait until my big bad boyfriend comes home!” she yelled.
> 
> “Okay… but I am home,” he tried again. He was too tired to yell over the yelling, so instead he focused on untying his boots.
> 
> “We just want to make sure you’re okay!” Sweet Pea said.
> 
> “I got soda dumped on me, not punched in the face.”
> 
> “ _No one_ got punched in the face, just lectured to death,” Reggie grumbled.
> 
> “Well at least no one is pressing charges,” Jughead said, finally loud enough for everyone to hear him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Tuesday!!!!!
> 
> Woooooo! And Tuesday at 9:23pm! Who even is she?
> 
> Here is chapter 21! And the Overture playlist! https://soundcloud.com/user-994534692/sets/overture
> 
> (normal disclaimer applies)

_Rollin’— Calvin Harris (feat. Future & Khalid)_

It was the middle of March, which meant a few things.

One: Jughead had been “re-enveloped” to their family after twenty seconds, and paid for a little weekend get-away for Sweet Pea and Veronica as an apology for throwing them in the middle.

Two: Veronica forgave him (very quickly) and they started secretly planning something for Betty’s birthday; though it wasn’t much of a secret, as Veronica couldn’t keep her mouth shut and Jughead would tell her anything she wanted to know with just a pout and a smile.

And three: the drive-in was opening up for the season.

Betty, or anyone for that matter, had never seen Jughead so excited about something. He had forced them all to help him clean out the dust and cobwebs that had accumulated in the six months that it had been closed. 

Right before they all started at Riverdale, Jughead shut the drive-in down for the winter, realizing he probably couldn’t keep it up if he was going to be following a rigorous academic path at Riverdale high. 

Betty could tell as Jughead talked about the drive-in how much he loved it, and how much it hurt him to have to shut it down early. 

“I mean, you guys. Wouldn’t it be so cool to be able to like have a place to hang out like outside of the bar and Cheryl’s house? Like, I don’t know, act like normal teenagers every now and then?”

“Jughead just said ‘like’ way too many times in that sentence. How much coffee have you had to drink today?” Veronica asked, walking over to Betty and kissing her on the cheek and grabbing Jughead’s wrist to check his pulse point.

“I don’t know, he was up way before me. Like, went to go get Pop’s and eaten his breakfast by the time I was awake,” Betty laughed and hugged her best friend. 

She missed Veronica immensely. It used to just be them, B and V. And then Cheryl entered their group. And then five gang members and their long time gay best friend and the little dynamic that the two of them had built slightly crumbled. 

Not in a negative way at all. It was just different.

“Wanna sneak away and go for a little walk on this trail Juggie and I found the other weekend while they’re cleaning up?” Betty asked with a small smile.

“You read my mind, mi amor,” Veronica said and squeezed Betty’s hand. They shot a quick look at one another, and went to go help for a few minutes before sneaking away. Betty sent Jughead a quick; **be right back xx** text and then skittered off into the woods with V.

“I feel kind of bad for leaving Cheryl,” Veronica said, biting her fingernails. Betty removed her hand from her mouth and gave her a sweet smile, loving how much Veronica cared.

“She’s honestly probably so excited to boss everyone around and maybe even take the title of Boss Lady,” Betty giggled. Then she had a thought. “Let’s go to Jug’s quickly to get Hot Dog and bring him on our walk. He needs, and loves, the exercise.”

“Won’t we have to walk past them again in order to get to the apartment?” 

“No there’s a little short cut that cuts thought the trailer park.”

“Oh, perfect,” Veronica sighed, and let Betty lead the way. Betty knew that Veronica was growing more and more comfortable with walking through the park and interacting with the people that lived there. 

They all spent time at Sweet Pea’s and Joaquin’s places as they also didn’t have adult family members living with them, and didn’t mind when a bunch of teenagers smoked and got shit-faced on a Tuesday during family dinner.

They walked in comfortable silence and Veronica grabbed Betty’s hand and swung their arms between them as they walked towards the bar.

As they entered, they were met by a hyperactive sixteen year old. 

Jeremy.

Betty had met him once before, and was astonished at how much he idolized Jughead and sought his respect and approval. Which meant he was incredibly nice and kind to Betty, and if she didn’t know better, would assume he was harboring a little crush.

“Hi Betty,” he said quickly, “hey Veronica,” he added quickly with a smile. “What are you guys up to?”

“Hi Jeremy,” Betty said, and squeezed his shoulder. “We’re grabbing Hot Dog and taking him for a walk while Jughead and everyone else is cleaning up the drive-in.”

“Oh that’s right! Jughead said I could work concessions on opening night.”

“That’s great, kid,” a voice said from behind them. Sweet Pea walked up and grabbed Veronica from Betty and wrapped her in a hug. He needed to do some work at the auto-body shop in Greendale, and decided to check the bar first to try and find them.

“Hey love,” Veronica said, standing on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. Betty beamed at her two best friends. Sweet Pea gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, and then released her. Betty knew that Veronica had issues with being intimate or affectionate in public. She also knew that Sweet Pea needed affection one-hundred percent of the time.

How they worked that out was honestly inspiring.

He then walked over to Jeremy and dapped him up. Sweet Pea, who was originally set to take over the Serpents when Jughead went to school, was surprisingly okay with some kid taking over.

“How’s it going, buddy?” he asked.

“It’s going good! How are you?”

“Well we’re about to head to the drive-in to help clean it up for when it opens next weekend. This little family of ours is trying to spend less time ditching school, and more time doing productive things on the weekend.”

“I don’t even know what a fucking weekend is,” Betty grumbled. “I’m going to get the dog.”

She trudged up the stairs and opened the door to their apartment. Hot Dog raised his head from his paws when he heard her come in and stood up in his crate, wagging his tail excitedly.

“Who’s my good boy?” she asked in a cooing voice. She walked over to his crate and let him out, jokingly scolding him for shedding his sheep dog fur all over her black clothes.

Black. A color that was once a foreign concept to Betty, became a regular staple of her wardrobe. Black leggings. Black sweater. Black coat. Black shoes. Black leather Serpent Jacket draped protectively over her shoulders during late night rendezvous to the grocery store for coffee oreo ice cream.

She used to hold on so tightly to both the ‘now’ and the ‘after,’ that she forgot to live. It wasn’t until she allowed herself to break free of the confines and expectations and _pink_ that she was able to just let go.

She stood up and brushed off the stray hairs that Hot Dog had left behind, and grabbed his leash from the hook on the wall. She clipped it to his collar and lifted him up into her arms as they went down the stairs. He still wasn’t very good at walking down them, so Betty insisted on carrying him when she was in a rush or a bunch of people at the bar.

“Oh my god,” Veronica sighed, and took Hot Dog from Betty’s arms. “Isn’t this just the cutest face you’ve ever fucking seen!” she squealed, looking directly at Sweet Pea.

“Baby you know that your face is the cutest face of all the faces in face town,” he said in a sickly sweet tone, and pulled her into a side hug. He squeezed the dogs face between his hands and Betty thought, _oh they’re going to make the best parents._

They _were_ eighteen. But when you know, you know.

Betty was the youngest of their group, turning eighteen two weeks from the upcoming Tuesday. Coincidentally, it also coincided with their school’s spring break. It was honestly the only real reason that they were trying to be better about not ditching over the next two weeks so they weren’t forced to make up class time over break.

Because Jughead and Veronica had something planned. 

Which to Betty, seemed unfair and volatile. 

She knew they were going somewhere, because they always went somewhere. Usually it was just to Veronica’s lodge upstate, but since they spent their very chill, very _un-_ Cheryl New Years there, they probably weren’t driving anywhere.

She hoped they weren’t flying. But the knowing gleam that sparked in both Jughead and Veronica’s eyes when someone mentioned wanting to be in the warm weather was the only tell she needed.

She could read those two like the back of her hand; they just didn’t know that.

“Are you coming with us to the drive-in, Jeremy?” Betty asked with a smile.

He blushed at her question and slightly stumbled over his quiet, “yes,” before following them out to Sweet Pea’s car. Veronica and Betty sat in the back and let Sweet Pea and Jeremy have the front. They wouldn’t admit it out loud, but they enjoyed watching Jeremy squirm under Sweet Pea’s scrutinizing, but utterly kind, conversation.

When they pulled up to the drive-in, Betty saw Jughead frown slightly at the person in Sweet Pea’s front seat. Betty had texted him and let him know that she would be right back, because, you know, communication. She just wasn’t expecting to be back this soon.

She jumped out of the back and skipped over to him, tucking herself under his outstretched arm. He didn’t look at her when he asked, “why’s the kid here?”

“I invited him,” Betty said quietly, and brought his chin down so he was forced to look at her. “I think it would be good to see you in your natural element and show him the responsibilities outside of just gang business.”

“And who gave you authority to do that?” he asked with a goofy smile dancing across his face.

“Me, obviously. I called Boss Lady.”

He hummed. “Shoulda never given you that title, baby girl.”

“But then I’d just be, ‘Coop.’ Beautiful female best friend of Sweet Pea.”

He growled. “No, you’d be, ‘Betty Cooper.’ Girl that Jughead is madly in love with but too chicken shit to do anything about it.”

“Hmm. I might be, ‘Betty.” Girl that Jughead was having _nasty_ sex with in the broom closets at Riverdale high.”

“We’re much classier than broom closets, love,” Jughead said and kissed the top of her head. He led them over to where Jeremy was standing awkwardly against the hood of Sweet Pea’s car as everyone had glommed around the puppy. 

“Hey kid,” Jughead said as he walked over to Jeremy. “Glad you could swing by.”

“Me too, Boss Man,” Jeremy said and smiled at them. “What can I do?”

“If you wanna start moving all of the boxes out from behind the concession stand, that would be fucking fantastic,” Jughead said. Betty could tell that he was trying to keep his voice overly cheerful and non-threatening, which, Jeremy probably appreciated.

“You’re being nice,” Betty said.

“I don’t want to scare him off.”

“Well, you’re doing a really good job.” She stood on her tip toes to kiss him deeply. “Veronica and I are going to go on a walk with the dog for a little and then we’ll come back and help.”

“Oh you are? Who said you get preferential treatment?”

Betty smirked and threw her arm over one of his shoulders in order to bring his ear down to her level. “If I miss out on working now, I’ll have to come back and make it up with some one-on-one cleaning.” She pushed her body close to Jughead’s and felt him already getting hard through his jeans.

“And Veronica?” he asked in a strangled voice.

“Eh, you still sort of owe her.”

“Do I?” Jughead asked, stretching out the words.

“Nope. But you love me,” Betty said, and skipped away from him. She walked over to where the rest of them were and grabbed Veronica’s hand.

“Cher, you’re Boss Lady until we get back. Use it wisely!”

They walked quickly in the direction of the river and ignored everyone’s noise of protest or complaint. Hot Dog jumped and skipped by their sides, stopping every few feet to pee or smell something or to grab and stick and hold it triumphantly. 

Without words, they had a mission of where they were going, and allowed the comfortable small talk about movies and music and love guide them through the trail in the woods along the roaring river until they reached their destination.

They stepped onto a huge rock that would get them level with a curvy old tree that branched out over Sweetwater River. Betty looped Hot Dog’s leash through one of the thicker, sturdier branches and gave him a treat before climbing up to meet Veronica at the highest point. 

Veronica pulled out a joint and lit it carefully, offering Betty the first hit. She inhaled the sweet smoke and closed her eyes. She leaned back against the huge trunk and lay her head on Veronica’s shoulder.

“How are you, babe?” Betty asked Veronica.

“I’m really good, B. I feel like for the first time things are finally going in the healthy direction that we’ve always wanted it to go. Like not only do we have boyfriends, but we have like, a whole ass family?” 

“It is weird,” Betty said and handed the joint back to Veronica.

“Have you talked to Alice?” Veronica asked. Betty shook her head against her shoulder and one of Veronica’s hands came up to stroke her hair. “I’m sorry, mi amor.”

“I mean,” Betty started, and took the joint, “it is what it is, you know? Like I could turn her in and have that be it, but, I don’t. Because one day, Polly is going to leave that insane asylum and someone is going to have to be there. And it won’t be me.”

“I always forget that you and Cher have nieces and nephews that live in-”

“They live in a fucking cult, V. It’s insane.”

Veronica snorted at this and rested her head on top of Betty’s. They held hands and shivered against the mid-March breeze. They finished smoking in silence. After a few minutes, Veronica broke the silence saying, “it would _not_ have been this peaceful with Cher here.”

“Oh no, not even a little.”

They both laughed and agreed that it was time to get off of the tree and head back to the drive-in. They had already decided to order food from the Chinese place they all liked and make sure to get Jeremy’s order too.

“He’s cute,” Veronica said as they hit the clearing. They could see the cars and hazy outlines of their people through the thick fog that was rolling in. 

“He is,” Betty nodding, knowing that ‘cute’ did not mean attractive, rather, cute like a puppy cute. 

As soon as they were far enough in the clearing that he wouldn’t get lost, Betty let Hot Dog off the leash and let him run back over to the crowd of loving and awaiting arms.

By the time they had got back to where the party was, they had gotten a considerable amount finished. Jeremy had cleaned out the concession stand and the proper boxes were unpacked or put into storage in the closet in the projection booth. 

Jughead had pulled out off of the reels and they were now debating on what to play.

“Guys,” Joaquin said in a slightly raised voice, which got their attention. “Why don’t we just let Jughead decide the first one, and we can rotate after.”

“Ah here comes _dad_ with the sensible ideas,” Sweet Pea grumbled. 

“All in favor?” Kevin asked. Betty thought she heard someone say “oh look, it’s our other dad,” but it didn’t look like anyone else heard, so she shook it off and raised her hand. She was standing next to Sweet Pea and Veronica and made eye-contact with Jughead across the circle.

“Jeremy has to abstain because it means we have an even number and no one to break the tie,” Cheryl pointed out.

“I’m _right_ here,” Reggie said, coming up behind Cheryl. He had not been there the entire day, but no one was really going to ask. “What are we voting on?”

“If Jughead gets to pick the first movie,” Joaquin said.

“Oh, easy. Duh,” Reggie said. “This is like, his porn.”

“Ahhhhh,” Betty said and covered her ears and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she saw ten pairs of humorous eyes staring at her.

“Got a problem with something else being Jughead’s p-”

“Stop!” she squealed. “I hate that word.”

“What, porn?” Sweet Pea asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Why didn’t we know this before?”

“Well I’m not going to walk around and be like, ‘hey guys, when you talk about your circle jerk-”

“Wooooah!” every guy yelled at once. “Who said anything about a ‘circle jerk?’” Fangs yelled.

“No one! Ugh! This isn’t the point. I don’t like the word. Please don’t use it. Heads down. All in favor?”

They stayed silent until Joaquin said, “okay,” and they all lifted their heads. Everyone except Cheryl had hands up in favor of Jughead picking the first movie.

“You can pick the next one, Red, promise,” Jughead said as he kissed her on the top of the head and walked over to where Betty was standing. She had her arms wrapped around her torso and was looking everywhere except his eyes.

“I promise to not say the ‘P’ word, okay?” he said as he wrapped his arms around her and swayed with her on the spot. She smiled into his chest and nodded her head. He pulled back and she looked up. He pressed a searing kiss to her lips and then whispered against her ear, “let’s go home.”

“V and I ordered Chinese to be delivered here so we could split it all up and then go wherever.”

“I would have helped with that,” Jughead said, stepping back.

“I know, but we waned to do it since we didn’t help much, or, at all, today.”

Jughead sighed but nodded, and led her back over to where everyone was standing with the dog.

“Who’s taking him tonight?” Fangs asked.

“We are,” Joaquin said. “Sheriff Keller wants to bring him into work with him and hang out with him during the day.”

“Well that’s domestic,” Toni said.

“This is all domestic, Tone,” Joaquin said, and patted her on the head.

At that moment, a big white delivery van pulled up and a girl who Betty sort of recognized through the fog struggled to carry four huge bags of take out over to them.

“Someone go help her,” Cheryl hissed, as Reggie got the hint and jogged over to where the girl was. As she got closer, Betty realized it was Ethel. 

Ethel.

There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with her per say, but something about her rubbed Betty the wrong way.

“Hi guys!” she said cheerily. Then she looked in Betty’s direction and said, “hi Jughead,” with a blush.

Right. That’s why.

Betty heard someone snort in her periphery but paid no attention. Jughead pretended not to hear her and asked Veronica how much it was.

“We took care of it already,” Betty said in a calm voice. 

“Oh, right,” Jughead said with a smile and kissed the top of her head. Betty stood on her toes again and waited for him to kiss her.

Which, of course, he did.

“Reggie, I didn’t realize you would be here too,” Ethel said in a strained voice.

“Um, why not?” Fangs asked her, making her jump.

“Well, why would he be?” she responded, her voice getting higher and higher at each word.

“We’ve been together for a little over a month now, Ethel,” Reggie said kindly. 

Bless his soul.

“Fangs I didn’t know you were gay,” she said, trying to either dig herself out of or deeper into the hole she was already in.

“No one did,” they all responded at once. Jughead pulled two twenties out of his pocket and handed them to Sweet Pea to hand to Ethel. Then Joaquin and Kevin stepped forward to grab the rest of the bags, and they all turned away from her.

Was it mean?

Maybe.

Was she just… daft?

Definitely.

“That thing with Ethel on Sunday was _so_ fucking weird, Betty said to Toni as they walked slowly down the hall. They were each holding neon fliers advertising tomorrow’s showing of _Rebel Without A Cause_ at the Twilight drive-in. They were handing them out as they went, and Veronica and Cheryl were taping them to lockers on the other side of the school.

“I know,” Toni said. “Sometimes I feel like she has a snake fetish.”

Betty stuck her arm out and asked, “a what?”

“A snake fetish. We see it all the time. Girls who intentionally seek out Serpents as boyfriends or girlfriends or partners or just hook-ups because of the power they think it will bring them.”

“Oh my god that Jughead doesn’t believe in. Is that what we did?”

“Oh fuck no. If anything, it’s the opposite. You little Northside bitches got us all tangled in your pouty lips and extensive vocabulary.”

“I don’t even know what a vocabulary is!” Betty yelled. She caught up to Toni who had resumed handing out fliers and said, “I know I don’t need to be worried. But let’s please make it a point to _not_ hand her one? I know I can’t dictate who comes or not. But I’d like to not have to deal with inviting her, you know?”

Toni nodded and linked her arm through Betty’s. They had just run out of fliers and decided to go find Veronica and Cheryl before the next bell rang.

They only had one period left, and Betty was going to go to the drive-in with Jughead to prepare everything for the next night. She could feel his nervous energy surfacing, and wanted to do everything in her power to be a calm and present force in his life at that moment. 

The drive-in was Jughead’s place of refuge from as far back as him being a little kid. It was the only place his parents would put aside their fighting. He had freedom, well, sort of. He was given money from his dad and he had to decide the best way to spend it. 

“I always got a mini popcorn and the cheapest box of M&Ms,” he had told her once. “Then I would usually have two dollars left and I would hold onto them in a shoe box in the back of my closet. I was able to save like, twenty-five dollars a year. Which when I was five, was incredible.”

“And what did you do with the money?” Betty asked, stroking his hair.

“My dad found it and used the whole like, hundred and twenty dollars on beer and drugs.”

Betty continued to stroke his hair and peppered small kisses to his face. They were sitting in the projection booth on the tattered corduroy couch. Jughead had his head leaned back and his back slouched low. 

“How is it going to work tomorrow?” she asked. 

“What do you mean?”

“Well like will you be up here the whole time?”

“No. I’ll be here at the start and then I’ll come down and snuggle with you in your truck. I’ll set an alarm on my phone for when I have to switch the reels and then come back down.”

“Sounds perfect,” she said. “Wait, we’re taking my truck?” 

“Yeah dude. Gotta snuggle somehow.”

“But that means I need to put gas in the truck and possibly get an oil change as it’s at Cher’s house.”

“We can bring all of that stuff over during the pregame.”

“What pregame?”

“What?”

“What?”

“You don’t know?”

“Obviously the fuck not!”

Jughead laughed and said, “breathe, baby. We’re just going to Cheryl’s house and getting drunk. I’m not, as I can’t. And Sweet Pea and Joaquin agreed to be designated driver’s _to_ the drive-in, but then leave their cars parked and walk back to their places.”

“And Cheryl and Toni?”

“Eh, they always figure it out.”

It was true. On any occasion that they went anywhere or got drunk doing it, the two of them always ended up home first and home the safest. It was quite a feat. 

“So tomorrow after school we’re going to Cheryl’s house and I’ll let people tell me what to do from there?” Betty asked, snaking herself across him so she was straddling his lap.

“Mmm,” Jughead sighed. “I’m the only one who gets to tell you what to do.”

“If that were the case,” Betty said, kissing up and down each side of his neck, “what would you tell me to do first.”

“First,” he said, fisting his hand in her hair and tilting her head back, “I would tell you to take off that jacket. Then,” he said, accentuating the word with a kiss to her pulse point, “I would tell you to tell me why you’re in a mini skirt.”

Betty giggled. Her, Toni, Cheryl and Veronica had all agreed to wear all black and mini-skirts that day with the pure intention of feeling powerful. They had all been down that week, and Toni said that “the only way to feel better about anything was to wear less of everything.”

“Blame Toni,” she sighed.

“Oh I’m not blaming her,” Jughead said in a low voice. “I’m thanking her.”

Betty slid back so she was still on his lap but had enough room to unbuckle his belt and raise herself slightly so he could push his jeans down his thighs. He roughly grabbed the front of her underwear, and the thin, flimsy thong, that she was wearing broke right apart in his hands.

* * *

_Her fucking thong just broke in my hand and I’ve never been so hard in my life._

“Come here,” he growled animalistically. He pulled her up against him and wrapped his hands around the backs of her thighs. He lifted her up and she gripped the base of his dick and he slid into her effortlessly. 

With her arms wrapped around his shoulders and his lips seeking refuge in her neck, he started to move. He pulled his hips and her body away from one another and then slammed them back down in rapid succession. She lifted his chin and crushed her lips against his for the first time and his eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

He wished he could say he lasted for rounds and rounds of fantastic sex. But he didn’t. 

“I’m not going to say sorry for finishing so fast,” he said with a sigh as she giggled at him and moved off of him. “But I am going to say sorry for ripping your underwear.”

“You loved it,” she said.

“I love you.”

The next twenty-four hours didn’t exist for Jughead. He was so weirdly wound up about things going smoothly that night, as if it wouldn’t be just as fun with only his friends there and Jeremy running concessions. 

But he wanted it to be fun for every single person in Riverdale. Call it daddy issues or whatever.

Sweet Pea sure did.

He pulled up to Cheryl’s house after school with a can oil and a gallon of gas in one of those red “do it yourself” containers that had been bumping around the trailer for years. He didn’t even go inside to say hi to anyone, just went straight to work on Betty’s truck, knowing that if he overcame that obstacle, he could overcome the next one.

And the next.

And the next.

You get it.

He spent the next hour making sure that Betty’s truck was safe to drive and be in before loading all of the blankets, pillows and beer into the bed of her truck. He had a thick-ass but really old comforter that he was going to put down on the actual bed of the truck to cushion them, and then pile on as many more blankets as possible. 

It would be them and Fangs, Reggie, Joaquin and Kevin in Betty’s truck because it was just bigger and could hold more people.

Not that Sweet Pea’s truck would be less than two feet away from hers.

He spent a few more minutes outside, wandering around the property and slowly smoking a cigarette. He had cut back a lot since dating Betty, but he still smoked at least two a day. More when he was stressed.

It was more, that day. 

He finally decided to go inside and wrap himself around his girlfriend. Walking up the stairs to the house he heard the distinct sound of pop music blaring through Cheryl’s party sized speakers. 

“I see you ladies have gotten into the tequila,” Jughead quipped as he watched Betty, Cheryl and Veronica take a shot. Their arms were all linked together in some weird way that Jughead didn’t understand and he walked past them, dragging Betty against him as he went.

He led her to the couch and took the margarita that Veronica had followed them over with and handed it to her.

“Hi, beautiful,” he whispered and kissed the sticky lime on her lips. She hiccuped.

“Hello, gorgeous,” she said back. “Do you need any help with the car?”

He smiled at her. “Sunshine, you’re hammered. And I’ve been here for like two hours fixing it.”

“I am not _hammered,_ ” she enunciated. “I am just sawed.”

“Sawed, hmm? And that’s supposed to make me believe you’re sober?”

“Oh no, I’m definitely not sober. But I’m not hammered.”

“Right,” he said, “you’re sawed.”

“I’m sawed.”

He crushed her to him and kissed the top of her head. She squirmed against him and then got up. “I have to pee,” she said by way of explanation, and headed off to the bathroom. Jughead sighed, got up, and headed to the kitchen where he found Sweet Pea drinking water.

“You’re drinking water?”

“I have to drive, dude,” he said and bumped Jughead’s fist. “You good?”

“Oh you know, pre-show jitters on crack because it’s just different.” Jughead sighed and moved to pour himself a glass of water. 

They stood there in silence before Sweet Pea said, “do you want some coke?”

“Do I- what?”

“I don’t know, dude. I haven’t seen you be this weird in a long time. Maybe some hard drugs could help that?”

“And how-” Jughead started, “actually no, I don’t wanna know. And no, I don’t want any coke.” He inhaled deeply and then asked, “are you taking it? Or selling it?”

“Neither, actually,” Sweet Pea said. “I don’t even have it on me. I’m just the ‘get it bitch,’ and if you needed it, I could get it.”

Jughead shook his eyes and wondered if the whole night was just going to be some insane fever dream that when he woke up from it, he’d have no idea what went on.

“Betty’s going around and telling everyone she’s ‘sawed’ because she knows she’s hammered, but doesn’t want to be,” Jughead told Sweet Pea as they walked out of the kitchen and to the living room. The girls were in a giggling heap on the couch, and Sweet Pea sighed.

“Sawed?”

“Yeah.”

“Fuck.”

“Yep.”

They got themselves together and headed out to the drive-in. Betty continued playing the bad pop music that Cheryl had on in the car, and Jughead tried to pay attention only to the beautiful girl dancing in the front seat and not all of the things that could go horribly, horribly wrong.

When they all got there, Jughead brought a very drunk Betty over to say hello to Jeremy, and then set her free. She was jumping around and smiling and for some reason just seeing her so utterly happy in _his_ element made his worry slide off of him in relieving waves.

“Hey, kid,” Jughead said, leaning over the counter to get closer to Jeremy. “If you see a buff red-haired dude try and talk to Betty when I’m not around, I want you to grab me or Pea. Or Fangs. But not Joaquin and _definitely_ not Reggie. Got it?”

Jeremy gave him a two finger salute and Jughead nodded in his direction. As he walked away he said, “obviously my family eats for free, yeah?” 

“You got it!” he called back as Jughead walked away. He saw Betty and Toni spinning in circles with their arms looped, and actually cracked a smily as he saw Sweet Pea usher them out of the way as cars started approaching.

An hour later, Jughead was up in the projection booth getting ready to start the movie when a text from Betty came through.

**Betty Cooper— 8:27pm:** i have ur snax

**Jughead Jones— 8:28pm:** jesus fucking christ.

_Rebel Without A Cause_ rolled to life at exactly 8:31pm and Jughead let his body relax. Finally. It all fell into place and he could go down stairs and sit in Betty’s truck and snuggle against her until the timer for the next movie went off.

He found her just where he left her, tucked into the corner of the truck with her legs underneath her. Jughead said hello to everyone else quickly and quietly before sitting close to Betty. He pulled her and the blanket she was under across their bodies and peppered her face in kisses.

“Hi,” she whispered. 

“Gross, you smell like tequila,” he said in a teasing voice. 

“I got your snacks,” she said, ignoring him.

“Is it snacks with an ‘x’?”

“Yes absolutely.”

“Can you two shut up?” Fangs asked. He was wedged between Betty and Reggie and was probably not all that excited about it either. 

Jughead blew him a kiss and went back to paying attention to one of his favorite movies. He didn’t want to play too much into the stereotype, but he really loved this movie, and loved how much he identified with it even more. 

Betty pulled out the largest popcorn option available and two of the biggest packs of M&Ms and whispered, “I got your snacks.”

_She remembered. Of course she did._

“Thanks baby,” he whispered back, and tilted her chin back so he could kiss her. He wanted to stroke the sides of her throat, but they were crammed between their best friends _and_ the half of Riverdale that showed up, so he settled for licking the sticky taste of lime and chocolate off of her lips and settled back into watching the movie.

All was going too well.

There wasn’t a single skip on the screen. Betty was getting a bit more sober and wasn’t saying no to drinking water. People were obviously excited about the film, and he would get periodic text updates from Jeremy about how much they’d sold. 

Which was a very mature thing for him to do, because Jughead hadn’t asked him for updates, but it was a level of accountability that Jughead had only ever seen in a new sixteen year old.

Himself.

So yeah, all was going too well, and Jughead let his guard down a bit more than he usually did outside of the company of his friends. He had to go back up to the booth to switch the reels before the first one stopped altogether, so he stood up and jumped off the side of the truck, leaning in the kiss Betty and letting her know he’d be right back.

As he was walking up, he saw Archie trying to buy food from the stand.

“Is there a problem?” Jughead asked Jeremy. Jughead raised a pointed brow at him in hopes of conveying the message of, “this is him!!”

“What do you want, Jones?” Archie asked in a bored voice that was laced in apprehension.

“Well, I want a lot of things. But I’ll settle for you acting like an adult and not harassing the sixteen year old working the concession stand at the drive-in _I_ own.”

Archie’s eyes went wide as he said, “right. Sorry. Just one soda and a popcorn,” Jughead overheard Archie say as he walked up the stairs to handle his business. He almost dropped the second reel, which would have meant everyone had to go home, but he didn’t, and the movie went on without a hitch.

He sunk down on the couch and toyed with the torn remains of Betty’s underwear from the day before and smiled. He tipped his head back to watch the movie on the small screen in front of him.

He would have stayed there for the whole movie if not for Betty, so he climbed down the rickety stairs and walked back out to what could be described as his worst nightmare.

Betty was standing in front of the concession stand, covered head to toe in coca-cola. 

It looked like it had been dumped on her from multiple different angles, and if she wasn’t visibly crying, Jughead would have assumed it was a prank by one of their friends.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” she shrieked at someone across from her. 

It was Ethel Muggs.

Jughead stayed a step back, not wanting to intervene until he needed to, knowing that trying to “save the day,” would just upset Betty further.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ethel said in a small voice. “I just tripped!”

“And did three other people trip at the same time? At the same place? _On_ the same person?” Cheryl asked, taking a step forward. 

“Seem a little suspicious to me, right babe?” Veronica asked, tipping her head back in Sweet Pea’s direction.

“Honestly, Ethel, what did you think was going to happen? Jughead would come back from the projection booth and-”

“Everyone, and I mean _everyone_ , involved needs to follow me to the back of the projection booth, _now._ ”

“This feels familiar,” Joaquin said quietly and marched himself and Ethel back. 

“Can anyone say ‘deja vu?’” Veronica whispered as she charged ahead.

“If Joaquin starts yelling, I start hitting,” Toni said with a giggle as she walked forward with Betty, but right before Betty could pass him, he stepped in front of her. 

“Breathe,” he said quietly. She looked up at him, her lip quivering. “Can you handle this?”

Her eyes narrowed and she said, “fuck yes.”

Before he knew what was happening, Betty stepped around him and charged towards Ethel. She had her fist back and was two inches from Ethel’s face when Sweet Pea wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back. He kept his arms on her and was furiously whispering in her ear.

“Explain,” Jughead said, looking at everyone.

“He means you,” Fangs said to Ethel. 

“I-” she started, but then began to cry.

“Stupid fucking bitch,” Betty snarled and wrestled against Sweet Pea’s arms, “I’ll give you something to fucking cry about.”

“I didn’t mean to!” Ethel wailed.

“Dude way too many people saw you _and_ three other girls, who have since dipped, dump large sodas onto Betty. So it could really only be one of two things. One- Archie put you up to it. Two- you have some vendetta against Betty,” Sweet Pea said from behind Betty. She was still putting up a fight in terms of breaking out from his grasp, but it was becoming less and less aggressive.

“It wasn’t Archie,” Ethel said, looking down. “I just couldn’t fucking stand it anymore.”

“Stand what, bitch?” Cheryl said, stepping in front of Ethel.

“Betty just, she gets whatever she wants. From friends to boys to _literal_ Serpent leaders. I mean, she got a whole gang. And what do any of us ever get?”

There was stunned silence that made Sweet Pea stop thinking for half a second, and Betty marched directly up to Ethel. 

She was directly in her face when she said, “I don’t _get whatever I want,_ bitch. I work for it. Boys? I drunkenly fucked Chuck _once_ last summer. Friends? It was just Kevin and Veronica until Cheryl came in. Serpent leaders and a gang? I was in love with Jughead before I even knew his name. So before you come to the drive-in, a place where _Jughead_ owns mind you, decide whether or not you want to piss off an entire GANG THAT YOU APPARENTLY WANT TO BE A PART OF!” Betty said, screaming at the end. 

She stared Ethel down. She didn’t blink. She didn’t hit her. And she didn’t yell again. 

“I’m not going to wait for you to say sorry, because your reasons for doing _such_ a childish thing are so invalid and meaningless. You want something you can’t have. I’m not sure why you targeted me, because Kevin, Veronica, Cheryl, hell even Reggie, are in the same position as me.”

“Yeah and I still have friends outside of these freaks,” Reggie said in a gruff voice. 

“Not helping, Reg,” Jughead said, clapping him on the shoulder. Then Jughead thought, _was that the reason that she was so weird about Reggie being there that weekend?_

“Is the only reason you targeted me in that moment because Jughead wasn’t standing right there?” Betty asked, bringing Jughead back out of his thoughts.

Ethel said nothing. 

“Did you know he owned this place?”

Again, she said nothing.

“I’ve been in your position. Wanting to be part of something that is so beautiful, but only seeing it from the outside. But that does not give you the right to dump freezing cold soda all over me and call it an accident.” Betty’s voice started to break at the end and she took a deep breath. 

Then she nodded her head and sighed. “You can go. You can stay until the end of the movie. Or don’t. I’m not going to tell you how to live your life.”

Ethel looked up shocked and started to quickly move away. She pushed past Betty, but she grabbed her arm before she could get anywhere.

“And Ethel. The _only_ reason I didn’t just punch the shit out of you was because this is a sacred space to my family. But if you fuck with me or any of them ever again? I won’t hesitate to punch your fucking lights out. I’ve done worse.”

She let go of Ethel’s arm and practically pushed her out of the way. They all silently turned and watched her walk away, shoulders shaking.

“Did she really-”

“I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Betty said, holding up her hand to whatever voice came from the darkness and walking over to where Jughead was standing and he watched as a tortured look crossed her face.

“We can go,” Jughead said.

“No,” Betty said with conviction. “She doesn’t get to pour shit on me and then I’m the one that has to run away hiding. No. There’s only like thirty minutes of the movie left, then we’ll break down, get milkshakes and I’ll go shower.”

Jughead smiled at her and tried to push some of the sticky hair out of her face. “You’re a force to be reckoned with, Betty Cooper,” he said with a smile.

“Am I bringing Coop home?” Sweet Pea asked, propping his elbow on Jughead’s shoulder. 

“No, she’s too much of a badass to flee the scene,” Jughead said, smiling at Betty.

“That’s our girl,” Sweet Pea said. He took off his Serpent jacket and gave it to Jughead, and then picked up Betty and threw her over his shoulder. She propped her elbows on his back and waved to Jughead like she did that day before Cheryl’s party.

Before they danced.

Before he got punched by Archie.

Before they _finally_ kissed.

And he smiled, because there wasn’t anything else to be mad about. The other shoe had dropped. The bad thing happened. And no one was going home bruised or bloody. Definitely sticky, but not bruised or bloody, which he was most fearful for.

Jughead walked over to the stand to see a very wide eyed shell shocked looking Jeremy. 

“What’s wrong?” Jughead asked, panic rising in his voice.

“Is Betty okay?”

“What?” Jughead asked, totally hearing him, but the feeling of overwhelming relief was much too great to fully pay attention.

“Is Betty okay. I saw the whole thing go down. With the one with the curly hair, Ethel? And the other three girls,” he rambled.

“No, she’s okay. Thanks for asking, kid,” he said. “I always shut the stand down when we hit the last twenty-minutes so people aren’t trying to buy shit once the movie is over. So let me teach you how to do it.”

Jeremy nodded and Jughead slipped around the back of the counter. He showed him the proper way to turn off the popcorn machine and all of the machinery for the soft-drinks. He showed him how to count the drawer and cash out, and then gave him his tips. Jeremy sent him another two fingered salute as he pulled a large popcorn out from behind the counter and shoved wads of bills in his pockets and then ran over to where a group of younger Serpents were sitting.

Yeah, he had made the right choice.

“I. Am. Fine!” Jughead head Betty yell as he opened the door to their apartment. She went back with Reggie, Sweet Pea and Veronica and Jughead assumed they would have just dropped her off. Not follow her up the stairs.

“Betty! Just let us wait until Jughead gets back!” he heard Veronica slur.

“I’m back,” Jughead said quietly.

“I am not a child! I don’t need to wait until my big bad boyfriend comes home!” she yelled.

“Okay… but I am home,” he tried again. He was too tired to yell over the yelling, so instead he focused on untying his boots.

“We just want to make sure you’re okay!” Sweet Pea said.

“I got soda dumped on me, not punched in the face.”

“ _No one_ got punched in the face, just lectured to death,” Reggie grumbled.

“Well at least no one is pressing charges,” Jughead said, finally loud enough for everyone to hear him.

“Jughead!” Veronica yelled! “When did you get here?” 

“Around the time Betty started trying to convince you she was fine. Which, for the record, I think she is. So you guys can go. Good night. We love you. Text when you’re home safe. All that bullshit. Let her go take a shower.”

He ushered the three of them out of the door and kissed Veronica on the cheek as she passed. Sweet Pea smiled at him and yelled, “love you, Coop!” right in Jughead’s ear as he walked by. Reggie bro-hugged him and exchanged a silent “Jesus christ,” before Jughead finally shut the door behind them.

“Holy fuck, hi,” she said and walked over to him. “You look tired.”

“I love you too,” he said sarcastically. “I take it you haven’t showered?”

“Well considering our bathroom door still doesn’t close completely correctly, I wanted to avoid getting naked in a room where I couldn’t lock the door. Veronica gets… curious when she’s drunk.”

“I don’t fucking want to know,” he sighed. “You. Shower. Me. Bed. Snuggle. Me. Quickly. Dying. Robot. Must. Get. Serotonin. By. Way. Of. Girlfriend’s. Body,” Jughead said in a funny robotic voice, making Betty laugh and squeal and jump out of the way and into the shower.

The door, sort of, closed behind her and Jughead walked to the kitchen to pull a strawberry milkshake out of the fridge. He also saw a double chocolate in there, but didn’t want to deal with that.

He stripped down to nothing but his boxers and got in bed, smiling at how insane the night was. But it was over. And even though he was absolutely terrified something bad would happen, and thought he was absolutely prepared for it… he wasn’t.

But it was okay.

Betty got out of the shower and climbed into bed next to him. She wrapped her whole body around him and kissed every inch of him she could reach.

“Who’s going to run the drive-through when we go away for spring break?” she asked.

“Who said we’re going anywhere?” Jughead asked, trying to keep his voice level.

“You and Veronica are really bad at talking with your eyes,” she said teasingly.

She knew. Of course she did. Because she was Betty Cooper and she could read his fucking mind. 

“You know we’re supposed to be surprising you for your birthday, right?” Jughead asked, brushing a stray piece of her hair out of her face.

“You know it’s not a surprise if you are bad at keeping secrets _and_ will tell me what I want,” she shot back.

Jughead leaned in, kissed the tip of her nose and stretched across her to pull out two very distinct white pieces of paper from the bedside table.

“No,” she gasped.

“Nosotros solo vivimos una vez,” Jughead mumbled against her neck.

“Where?” she questioned, and Jughead saw that she too, was trying to keep her cool but really just, fucking losing it.

“Mexico, mi amor. Tulum, to be exact.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you think my loves!
> 
> Bringing it back to our pure comedic family with more of Betty's developed inner monologue and some B+V friendship!
> 
> I cannot believe how close we are to the end of the story it is fully blowing my mind lol. 
> 
> Anyway-- not to fear. I will def have a new Tuesday multi-chap launching shortly after this one wraps up and this will 99% be getting a sequel so... yay!!
> 
> As always, come tumble with me and talk my ear off about anything you want! Your life! Fics you love! Your fav food! I love it all.  
> @blackberry-beee
> 
> The Overture playlist link is in the top notes but also here: https://soundcloud.com/user-994534692/sets/overture
> 
> Until Tuesday (or Thursday for the compound!)
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	22. You And Me Together // We Gon' Make This Trip Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I want to toast to Betty, but I feel like we do that all the time,” Fangs said, sipping his drink. “Holy shit this is good,” he sighed.
> 
> “How about to…” Jughead started but never finished.
> 
> “How about to Veronica and Jughead, for being the best _not_ surprise party planners,” Betty suggested with a grin.
> 
> Everyone raised their glasses and called, “to Veronica and Jug!” before taking long, satisfying sips of their drinks. Betty snuggled back into Jughead’s side and closed her eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know that feeling when you've had a stressful day and then you get under the covers and things feel better?  
> Well getting back into my account felt _exactly_ like that.
> 
> Here's Mexico, loves! A much sappier note at the bottom. 
> 
> Disclaimer: I only own the story, not the characters, music it is based on or the TV show Riverdale.

_Palm Trees — GoldLink_

_Happy birthday to you... Happy Birthday to you... Happy Birthday..._ was all she could remember before Jughead smushed a big piece of cake into her face and then licked her cheek dramatically.

Sweet Pea tried to do the same but was quickly blocked by everyone in the room. When he drunkenly asked why, Joaquin slurred, “because Juggie will kill you if you lick his baby,” and then promptly collapsed on the couch.

He was the first to go.

Which meant he walked through JFK with a faded penis drawn on his forehead.

Betty spent the morning of her eighteenth birthday hungover in first class on her way to Tulum. She had traded seats with Cheryl because she wanted to talk to Jughead about birthday plans, so Betty and Toni spent the first hour of the flight sipping on mimosas bought with fake IDs and Hiram Lodges’ credit card, trying to keep their hangovers a bay.

“I can’t believe I fell victim to this again,” Toni groaned as she placed her head on Betty’s shoulder. She stroked her friend’s pink hair and rested her chin on top of her head. 

“No one can say no to the margs, even if they try really hard,” Betty sighed.

“Reggie did!” Toni squeaked.

“Yeah, but Reg was in charge of getting us all up and out of the house this morning without incident and based on what happened with Pea… I think he would have rathered the hangover.”

“I don’t know how he thought Reggie was Veronica,” Toni said, “they look nothing alike.”

“I think that’s what the problem was,” Betty giggled into the back of her hand. She turned her body slightly to the right and rolled her eyes at Sweet Pea, who was behind her diagonally and wearing one of Veronica’s eye masks. 

Dramatic.

“Do you think you can eat yet?” Betty asked with a stifled yawn.

“Not even a little,” Toni replied and twisted her body so her back was pressed against the window so she was looking right at Betty. Then she whispered, “wanna know what Cherry and Jughead are talking about?”

More than Toni could know. Betty hated surprised. And Betty hated her birthday. And somehow the two had combined in such a way that she couldn’t run away from it. 

Literally. She was on a plane on her way to a different country.

Mexico to be exact.

When Jughead told her that they were heading to Mexico after the whole Ethel incident, Betty wanted to get out of bed, drive to Sweet Pea’s, and slap Veronica clean across the face. 

But Jughead calmed her down with words of encouragement and a promise of a thousand kisses.

And _no_ surprises.

But Betty should have realized that _that_ was a lie because her best friend was Veronica Lodge who was notorious for doing exactly the opposite of what was asked.

“I swear to the god that Jug doesn’t believe in, Tone, yes.”

Toni leaned in so that she could whisper in Betty’s ear and said, “too bad.”

At that moment, Cheryl had swung back around and was asking for her spot next to Toni again, forcing Betty to get up. She huffed and plopped down in the seat next to Jughead. He started to put his arm around her, but she dodged him completely.

“Oh, you’re mad I won’t tell you?” he asked, nuzzling his nose against her neck.

“Yes,” she huffed and pulled away. 

She stayed that way for what felt like an hour but was only five minutes. Betty folded herself under Jughead’s arm and remembered when she walked right past him and into Pea’s arms all those months ago.

By the time the wheels touched the ground, they all felt like brand new people. Veronica had sprayed Betty’s face with some expensive smelling mineral water and spritzed her with a bit of sunscreen before they stepped out. Jughead’s brow had broken into shiny beads of sweat that inevitably forced him to take off his beanie twenty minutes into their trip.

On the drive to where they were staying, Betty lay her head on Jughead’s shoulder and stared out the window in awe. They drove closer and closer to the ocean and Betty could see the sky blossoming into a deeper and deeper view as the sun went down and colors exploded across the sky.

It was like nothing she had ever seen before.  
She leaned forward to wrap her arms around Veronica, who was in the seat in front of her, and kiss her cheek, whispering, “thank you, thank you, thank you,” into the brunette’s hair. Veronica squeezed her arms tightly and leaned back so she could see Betty’s face better.

“Anything for you.”

Betty leaned back and rested her head where it was before, and Jughead peppered the top of her hair with kisses and she smiled into his chest, unable to contain the school-girl giddiness that was threatening to take over her body.

Not that anyone would care.

In the week leading up to their Tulum trip, and following the incident with Ethel, Betty had slightly reverted into the self she was when living with Alice at the beginning of her evolution into who she was now. She spoke up less and less and found herself pulling away from all of the boys in her group in a way she didn’t before.

Sweet Pea noticed immediately and told her if she continued to be scared of everyone, that people would walk all over her, and no one wanted that.

She slapped him in the face and he smiled. She had raised her eyebrow at his expression until she realized that that was the desired outcome,

There wasn’t as much luxury to their hotel as there was when they arrived at Grand Central Station, but where they ended up staying was so...

The only word Betty could think of was _perfect._

Rather than it being a hotel with rooms all connected, there were small outdoor rooms that each couple was staying in. They looked like huts, but “make it luxury,” Veronica said as they stepped out of the cars.

A bellhop quickly greeted them and ushered them inside as a few other employees met their car and started unloading their luggage. Betty grabbed a hold of Veronica’s hand and let her drag her through the resort. 

“Veronica,” Betty warned.

“If you ask me how much it costs, I’m going to lock you in your room for the whole week and wave my black card in your face!”

“You do that anyway!” Betty replied.

“So you know to just enjoy it then, don’t you!”

Betty giggled and Veronica rolled her eyes, continuing to drag her around the place. She led them towards a back porch area that overlooked the beach and the ocean. Rather than traditional tables, there were hanging “cacoons” as Joaquin called them, which could hold two people.

Sweet Pea would later try and test that theory and almost tear down the entire structure. 

Waiters in loose-fitting white linen shorts and breezy t-shirts walked around with fruity drinks and didn’t bat an eye when they all reached for one. 

“I want to toast to Betty, but I feel like we do that all the time,” Fangs said, sipping his drink. “Holy shit this is good,” he sighed.

“How about to…” Jughead started but never finished.

“How about to Veronica and Jughead, for being the best _not_ surprise party planners,” Betty suggested with a grin.

Everyone raised their glasses and called, “to Veronica and Jug!” before taking long, satisfying sips of their drinks. Betty snuggled back into Jughead’s side and closed her eyes. 

“How are you?” he asked quietly in her ear. She nodded against his chest and he kissed the top of her head. 

“Thank you,” she said and stood on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek. He turned his head at the right moment and captured her lips in his. They were warm and slightly sticky and tasted faintly of rum and sugar and Betty pulled him as close to him as she possibly could.

A chorus of, “get a room,” and “get your hands off my sister,” echoed in her ears but she couldn’t even think about it because the love of her life and all of her soulmates were standing on a beach in Mexico more in love than they’d ever been in their lives.

When they finally broke apart, Betty was dragged away from Jughead by Cheryl, who demanded they take photos before they separated for the afternoon. Betty smiled as she pressed her lips to Veronica’s cheek, as she stood with her back to Reggie’s, as Fangs and Joaquin held her in a weird bridal style position, as Sweet Pea put her on his back, as Cheryl and Toni wrapped their arms around her, and as Jughead picked her up and spun and kissed her with a backdrop of the pristine ocean.

Betty was obviously crying.

“Okay!” Veronica half-shouted. “Our dinner reservations are for eight-thirty, so all of my ladies, _you can come too, Quin,_ need to meet me in my room, no, you _can’t_ be there, Pea, to get ready at like six please.”

“That’s so little time in V land,” Kevin said, draping his arm around her.

“I’m _trying_ to be nice on our first day here, but if we want to make it five…”

“I’ll send him over at six,” Kevin said quickly and dragged Joaquin down the beach.

As the other couples began to disperse, Jughead leaned down and asked in a quiet voice, “do you want to go swimming?” 

“Like, in the ocean?” Betty asked in a dumb voice.

“Well not in the bathtub,” Jughead replied with a roll of his eyes. He dragged her off to their room, which was situated at the end of the row next to Cheryl and Toni. Betty sighed in relief knowing that Pea wasn’t right next door and couldn’t come barreling into their room at any given moment without some form of warning.

It had happened before. 

They climbed the four shallow steps to their room and Betty slid the door open, gasping in awe. There was a huge white king-sized bed in the middle of the room, overlooking the ocean. There was a walk-in shower that had a bathtub _inside_ of it, that as Bety got closer, she realized that it was a soaking hot-tub style tub that she would be taking advantage of at least once a day.

She brought enough Jane Austen and Agatha Christie to last her a month. 

Maybe they could all drop out of school, elope, and live in Tulum together.

_No, Elizabeth, that’s the dumbest idea you’ve had since slapping Pea across the face._

Although…

“Are you going to change into your bathing suit, beautiful?” Jughead asked, coming up behind her. She sighed and walked over to her suitcase, dreading opening the thing and finding the skimpy bikini’s that Veronica undoubtedly packed her.

Except, they were very Betty approved.

Still bikini’s and still more showy than she would want in a public setting, they did cover everything but still made her feel sexy. 

And she knew Jughead would love them, so she quickly slipped on a high waisted lemon printed bikini and skipped outside to meet him. 

“Well don’t you look delicious,” he grinned and kissed her again.

They walked hand in hand down the beach in the opposite direction of the hotel. Betty walked closer to the ocean than he did, dipping her toes into the warm clear water at any chance she could. Jughead was holding the beach bag in one hand and her in the other and she once again tried not to cry at the thoughtfulness of the people around her.

She knew that they would be taking a trip regardless of her birthday, and she knew that with the way her group worked, that each birthday would somehow need to be more extravagant than the next, so it was only fitting that her birthday fell at the same time as their break. 

She skipped ahead and stood facing the water, thinking about her past birthdays with Alice, her dad, and Polly. They were never anything special, but they weren’t ignored. Her dad, before the before, always bought her a new car part for the old Beetle that they _were_ fixing up, and showed her how to install it. 

Her mom always baked her a cake and put fresh strawberries in the center, and allowed them to order greasy burgers from Pop’s that at the time, gave Betty a major stomach after inhaling, but never complained. 

She and Polly would always take long walks down by the river and gossip about boys and pretend that on almost every other day of the year, their parents argued about random and unnecessary things that the girls stopped paying attention to by the time Betty was eleven.

She didn’t realize she was crying slightly until Jughead walked up to her and silently put his arm around her, not saying anything, but genuinely knowing what she was thinking.

“You can call her if you want,” he whispered. Betty shook her head and wiped her eyes. 

“If she wanted to talk to me, she’d call. It is my birthday, after all.”

Jughead nodded and replied, “my dad didn’t call either. It might have been because he was embarrassed. Or because he was still angry. Or thought that I wouldn’t pick up, which, I wouldn’t. But I still wish I had called.”

She nodded this time. “Maybe after dinner. Or tomorrow, if she doesn’t call today.”

“I think,” he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead, “that that is a magnificent idea.”

“Magnificent?”

“I have spent _way_ too much time with Red and Ronnie this week,” Jughead said with a shrug.

“Red and–” 

“I don’t want to fucking talk about it.

Betty giggled and grabbed his hand. They continued down the beach until they found a spot close enough to the shade but still sunny enough for Betty to enjoy the warm. They lay on the towels, Betty re-re-re-re-reading _Pride and Prejudice_ and Jughead laying on his stomach lazily writing by hand a chapter of a novel idea that clicked for him on the flight there. 

By the time they had sweat out almost the entirety of their water volume, they raced each other into the water, Jughead noting that when they were at the beach with their friends that Betty would spend enough time being thrown in. 

She kissed him deeply and he moaned into her mouth, but before he could wrap her arms around him, she booked it towards the ocean, laughing maniacally as she went and narrowly tripping over her own two feet. 

Jughead still beat her. 

They stayed in the shallower part of the water talking about Jughead’s novel idea. He wanted to write something based on the crime and murder of Jason, and the main character’s own passive involvement in it.

“Would it be non-fiction? Like an exposé?” Betty asked before leaning back to get her hair wet.

“Not an exposé, because I don’t want to re-incriminate my dad. But definitely based on true events. Red and I started talking about it. She gave me full permission, and said that any information that I needed she’d be happy to share.”

“So she went from, ‘Jughead’s dad killed my brother even though those charges had been dropped,’ to ‘of course I’ll help you write your novel, Juggie.’”

Jughead looked down sheepishly. 

“Oh my god that you don’t believe in,” Betty said. “That’s _exactly_ how she said it.”

His silence was his own incriminating downfall.

“Do we spend too much time together?” Betty wondered pensively.

“Oh absolutely. Without a doubt in anyone’s mind ever. I’m surprised they don’t think we’re in a cult.”

“After the Ethel thing last week, they probably do,” Betty laughed and dove under a shallow wave.

“That’s fair,” he sighed. “We did bring her to the back of the drive-in while you were covered in soda and I was glowering like an insane person.”

Betty smiled and continued to float. Jughead wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up. She wrapped her legs around him and sighed. His forehead was pressed against her face and they stayed like that for an immeasurable amount of time.

“What time is it?” Betty said out of nowhere, a pinch of panic creeping up her spine.

“I don’t know, Betty Cooper, let me check the waterproof phone that I put in my pocket before we got in the water,” he answered sarcastically.

“If I’m late to get ready I’m letting you take the fall.”

The same look of panic that Betty knew had crossed her face crossed his and they swiftly waded out of the water. 

6:16.

She was fucked.

“I gave you an extra hour because I was trying to be nice,” Veronica said, passing a comb through Betty’s salty hair. “What were you guys even doing. Actually,” she said after second thought, “I don’t want to know.”

“Smart,” Betty said, not wanting to go into the details of their very PG-13 afternoon where they talked about Cheryl and her mom.

It would be the _only_ thing they could talk about during dinner that night.

Veronica pushed her into the shower and Betty took advantage of the luxury products that she kept with her at all times. She conditioned her hair and scrubbed the sand off her body and admired the slight tan lines that she could already see forming across her skin. 

When she stepped out, Veronica had laid out a white backless and flowy dress for Betty to wear. She stepped into it after drying off and putting some lavender-scented lotion on her body. She smiled at her reflection and quickly ran a blow dryer through her hair. 

She stepped out of the bathroom to find Joaquin laying across Veronica’s bed with a glass of champagne in his hand.

“Well don’t you look magnificent,” Betty said to him, throwing a glance in Cheryl and Veronica’s direction. 

“I know that was sarcasm,” he said, “but I am choosing to ignore it.”

“Smart,” Betty found herself saying for the second time. 

“Sit, sunshine,” Veronica said. Betty sat in the cushy chair that she had brought over and started to twist a curling iron through her hair. 

After about fifteen minutes, Veronica ran another hairbrush through her hair. “Manufactured beach waves,” she said with a wink. 

“Because leaving the salt in my hair wasn’t allowed?”

“No,” three voices chorused at once. 

Betty sighed and then moved out of the chair so Cheryl could do her make-up and Toni could have her hair done. A well oiled “get ready” machine that they had perfected over the last few months.

By the time everyone was ready, it was eight-fifteen, and when they arrived, Sweet Pea immediately stood up and said, “it’s about damn time. We’ve been here for fifteen minutes and I still don’t know which fork to kill myself with.”

“Calm down, Nick Miller,” Kevin replied. “You wouldn’t need to do that. You know we’d take on the burden of kill you ourselves.”

“Hey kids,” Joaquin said. “Let’s _not_ talk about killing people at dinner in front of other people? We’re out in public, not on Cheryl’s couch.”

“Ignoring the fact that dad-Quin has come out after two glasses of champagne,” Toni said. “He’s right. Let’s just sit down.”

“Dad-Quin?” he asked. 

“It fits,” Fangs said, and Reggie nodded, draping his arm around the back of his chair.

“But for real, can we like, eat?” Reggie asked.

They walked over to their table and sat down. Betty was situated in between Jughead and Sweet Pea, and Sweet Pea kissed her cheek in hello.

“Pea. You do realize that kissing Betty means that I can’t do that for a while,” Jughead said.

“Oh relax, Jones. You can kiss her if you want to.”

“Not unless I want people thinking we’re in some kind of weird sex group.”

“Aren’t we?” Reggie asked with a sly grin.

“I’m a top,” Cheryl piped up.

“She’s a _switch,_ ” Toni unnecessarily clarified.

“Boss Lady and Birthday Girl. This conversation is over. Jughead, if people think we’re in a sex cult, let them. Sweet Pea, stop kissing my cheek in public. Not that I don’t appreciate it. But I appreciate Jughead’s kisses more.”

“Is this the weirdest conversation we’ve ever had?” Kevin asked.

“No,” the entire group chorused back.

At that moment, the waiter walked over to them and offered them drinks and let them know that Mr. Lodge had ensured that they would get the tasting menu that evening and that they had been informed that it was someone’s birthday.

“I hate everyone,” Betty growled.

Except she didn’t. 

Because the food was incredible and the cake with strawberries on the inside was better than any she’d ever had before. She cried when they brought it out and they all sang Happy Birthday again and the boys held out the last note until the last of the sparkler candles had been blown out. 

Betty insisted that there were no presents allowed because of the trip and all of them coming and all of them loving her was enough to last a lifetime and surprisingly, they all listened.

Or so she thought. 

On their slightly stumbling walk back and Reggie’s blatant falling over, Betty checked her phone. 

There was a text from a number that she would know even with her eyes closed.

**Alice Cooper– 10:56pm:** I hope you liked the cake.

The next morning, Betty sat on the front porch of her room eating a huge bowl of watermelon and mint, staring at the text she had received the night before. 

She was in the after. The present, actually, as she had been calling it. The time that she existed _in_ , not the time that existed around her. 

_What the fuck does that even mean?_ She asked herself.

_It means she knew what was going on and where’d you be down to the location, time, and waiter._

Before she could ponder it further, Jughead walked out to meet her, wearing only a pair of plaid pajama pants slung on his hips.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said and kissed the side of her face.

“Did you text my mom?” Betty blurted out without thinking.

_Jesus Christ._

“Absolutely,” Jughead said and sat down next to her. “You were so sad yesterday, and I remembered how upset I was when I didn’t head from either of my parents on my birthday, specifically my dad. I got her number from Red and texted her our plans. I told her I knew about the cake, and how much it would mean to you if you had it. I told her she didn’t have to do it, but that it was the least she could do.”

Betty didn’t know what to do or say, so she just sat there for a moment, staring at the ocean and breathing deeply. 

“Are you upset with me? I totally under–” but Betty stopped him, flinging her arms around him and pressing kisses to the side of his face.

“That was the best birthday present anyone could have given me,” Betty said. “I don’t change anything between her and me, but it means there’s still a sliver of a human within her, which is good to know.”

“So you’re _not_ mad?”

“No of course not, Beanie Boy. That was the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me. So thank you.”

“You know how you could thank me?” he asked, wagging his eyebrows.

“I’m not going to thank you for helping my mom extend a sort of almond branch–”

“Olive.”

“Right,” Betty blushed. “I haven’t had coffee.”

“Lucky for you there’s a french press inside with your name on it.”

Betty sighed happily and walked in to make the coffee, telling Jughead that he should order some form of food before they venture off into the world of Veronica Lodge on vacation. 

Stepping inside, she rapidly blinked against the dark bedroom. She pulled out her phone and opened the text from Alice.

**Betty Cooper– 9:34am:** Thank you. I truly did.

“Nice suit,” Veronica said, skipping over to Betty and wrapping her in a hug. 

“Oh this old thing,” Betty said, twirling around and showing it off. “The greatest friend in the world picked it out for me and suck into my suitcase.”

Veronica giggled and Betty threw her arms back around her. It was now two in the afternoon and they had all met in front of Fangs and Reggie’s room. It was the one closest to the bar and restaurant. Reggie still hadn’t emerged but Fangs assured them that he would be fine.

“He’s a football player. He knows how to rally.”

And rally he did.

“Good morning gays, girls, and guys,” he yelled from his porch. 

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Toni groaned.

“I see you’re feeling better, Reg,” Joaquin called.

He jumped down from the porch and landed in a thump on the sand, and ran over to them. He looked like that guy in the teen movies who ran in slow-mo towards the water and then tripped when trying to impress a girl.

“Is anyone else _starving?”_ he asked.

“No, honey,” Veronica said. “We haven’t just depleted our nutrients in a twelve-hour span.”

“I’m hungry,” Jughead said at the same time as her and stood up so they could walk over to the bar together. They came back with an assortment of fish tacos and Jughead handed one to Betty. She smiled as she bit into one. When she finished, she stood up and walked over to where Cheryl was sprawled out on a chair and sat directly on her lap.

“Ow, Betty!” she yelled. Betty wrapped her in a tight hug and Cheryl returned it. “Jughead told you?”

Betty nodded and said, “thank you.”

Before Cheryl could reply, she heard the sickening voice of Sweet Pea say, “oh, Coop!”

“And that’s my cue,” she whispered.

“Yes, no I know what comes next,” she huffed and stood up. Sweet Pea happily threw her over his shoulder and ran with her to the ocean. Betty propped her elbows on his back and waved. 

“Happy Birthday sister!” he yelled before plunging them bother under the water.

When they surfaced, Betty clambered onto his back and laughed as they spun in circles. 

“How are you?” she asked. They hadn’t spent much time together in the last week or so, getting ready to leave in terms of school and work and she missed him.

“I’m good, Coop. I’ve been getting to spend extra time with Ronnie while she prepared for this and for the move, which I’m getting more and more excited about.” He dunked them under another wave and asked, “how are you doing? You seemed crazy busy last week.”

“Yeah, that was really fucking hard,” she admitted. “But with needed to save money for the move and catching up on assignments, it felt insane to try and hang out. I felt like a ghost during family dinner,” she admitted.

“We all understood, Coop. You’re the only one of us with a traditional job, so there was absolutely no stress or pressure to do anything. Plus, we all kinda fall into the mindset of, ‘protect her at all costs.’”

“Is there a committee?”

“Yes. And Jughead fights everyone who wants to be the chairperson of the board.”

“I hate all of you,” she said beaming.

At that moment, a crash of six bodies came rushing into the water behind them, and they both snapped their heads to see who it was.

“Twenty-bucks says Joaquin stayed on the beach with Cheryl,” Betty said quickly.

“I’ll take that bet,” Sweet Pea said with a grin. 

Later that night, Betty was twenty dollars richer.

“Ladies,” Fangs said as they approached them.

“I’m honestly just glad that Sweet Pea has someone else to occupy himself with,” Betty said, struggling to get down.

“Oh no,” Veronica said. “I’m letting you entertain him. I am not trying to be thrown.”

“You just said the magic word, Park Ave,” Jughead grinned. He picked her up easily and threw her in the direction of where it was deepest. She spluttered as she resurfaced and Betty laughed way too loudly at her friend’s expense.

“Doesn’t feel too good, does it?” she asked Veronica.

“I will never make fun of you again,” Veronica swore, drawing an ‘X’ over her heard.

“I doubt it.”

They spent the next who knows how long swimming and splashing each other and playing, ‘Who Can Throw Betty The Farthest,” and it was only when her lips had started to turn purple and her skin broke out into goosebumps and Veronica’s hair looked like a seagull had nested in it did they get out. 

They chose to order more food from the bar and sit on the beach to eat. Jughead ran back to their room to grab Betty a big sweatshirt and wrapped her up in it. She looked up at him and smiled. He sat down behind her and fed her bites of his taco and she laughed when Sweet Pea leaned in and asked for a bite himself.

They watched the sunset and didn’t head back to their rooms until they were almost all asleep in the sand. 

It was one of those days that Betty could categorize as perfect if she ever believed in the word.

* * *

The rest of the week passed in a weird blur of fruity drinks, Betty in a bikini and warm, salty air. Jughead had never experienced a type of trip like this. His parent’s idea of vacation included going to Greendale and staying in a cheap motel with a pool while his dad dealt drugs to pay for their room.

It was always just one room.

But now he was with a group of nine other people being chauffeured around one of the most desirable vacation spots drinking a vodka-lemonade and he wondered if he told a year ago Jughead that this was what he would be doing during a school break if it would be believable. 

Absolutely not. 

When they touched down on Betty’s birthday, Jughead was overwhelmingly anxious. It was way too hot to wear his beanie, which stressed him out, and he was in a place where he didn’t speak the language.

But he relaxed bit by bit until it was the last day of their trip and he looked back on all that they had done. 

The day after they lazed around on the beach, Veronica scheduled a taco tour for them to go on, which was literally just a tour led by a wonderful man who led them to all of the best taco spots on the island. After that, Jughead knew he would never be able to eat tacos in New York again. 

They also went on a tour of historical sites for Betty and Joaquin who were both insane history buffs. It was mostly Mayan ruins that Jughead found utterly boring, but the look of childlike glee on Betty’s face made the whole thing perfect.

They also visited an underwater cave called, “Cenote Dos Ojos,” which was one of the most beautiful places that Jughead ever seen. He didn’t think it was possible that something that beautiful existed on planet Earth. He didn’t even think they were on Earth anymore.

As their trip was coming to an end, Jughead accepted a call from “Riverdale County Correctional,” and talked his dad’s ear off about the trip.

“Veronica Lodge is the most extra person I’ve ever met, but she’s also the most generous. Like no one has paid for anything, her dad’s card just keeps getting charged.”

His dad laughed and said, “that’s nice of her.” 

“It really is. I’m really happy I found all of them.”

“And how’s Betty?” he asked.

Jughead smiled, thinking of how that morning he had woken up to he sprawled on the bed, blonde hair a perfect halo around her. She smiled sleepily and blinked at him. 

“Are you watching me sleep?” she asked. He nodded, not even able to verbalize how much he loved her, and this moment. 

“It’s one of my favorite things to do,” he replied, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her nose. 

“That’s really creepy.”

“It’s _romantic._ ”

She rolled over so she was laying on her side and staring right at him. Hours and hours in the sun had made a small constellation of freckles break out across her skin. Her cheeks were had the permanent shade of rose splattered across them.

“Have I told you how beautiful you are?” he asked, mentally kicking himself for using the cheesiest line in the books.

“Not today,” she replied coyly.

“Well then,” he said. “You are so beautiful, Betty Cooper.”

“And you, Beanie Boy, are beautiful too.”

He smiled again, replying to his dad. “She’s really good. I think she had a good birthday and has been enjoying all of the historical sites we’ve seen. I’ve been enjoying the taco tours.”

His dad broke out into big belly-laughs and Jughead could see the way his eyes would crinkle through the phone. 

“That sounds like you,” FP said. “Listen, when you get back, would you maybe want to come and see me. No pressure, of course, and you don’t have to tell me right now. But just, I don’t know, keep it in the back of your mind?”

Jughead was totally still and silent. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t go back and see his dad for a while, if ever, seeing as how triggering the entire situation was for him. He almost lost his friends _and_ Betty because he listened to his dad and then went off the rails.

But crushing his spirit wasn’t in Jughead’s nature anymore either.

“Yeah, dad. I’ll think about it,” he said finally.

“That’s great Jug, thank you,” FP replied with a sigh of relief. “Listen, I have to go now, but give me a call again when you’re ready.” And then the line clicked, and Jughead wasn’t responsible for saying anything back.

He stood on the porch and waved to Toni who was smoking a joint on her own. She made a motion that Jughead interpreted as, “do you want to come over?” and shook his head no, but blew her a kiss anyway.

_What the fuck is up with us and the kissing recently?_ Jughead thought.

“Well, we are in a desirable wedding destination. Maybe everyone is just as excited to elope as we are,” Betty said with a smirk. “You’re not as good as thinking questions as you think you are.”

“You said ‘think’ a lot.”

“ _Anyway,_ ” she stressed. “Do you want to swim quickly before dinner? It’s our last night here and I _need_ to take advantage of the warm before we are plunged back into the world of pants and hats.”

“Please. The second we step into the air-conditioned airport, I am putting back on my beanie. This is _literally_ the longest I have gone without it in my entire life.” 

“Okay drama queen,” Betty said with a roll of her eyes, “let’s go.”

They changed into their swimsuits and Jughead took a minute to admire Betty’s body. Her legs seemed impossibly long in the high-waisted bottoms she was wearing, and it hugged her in all of the right places.

Veronica had also only packed bikini’s that had fruit on them, so she looked even more delicious than ever. 

They walked hand and hand down the beach and Jughead told her more about the novel he was planning to write about his life. He chose to keep their family out of it, realizing that it would be too biographical if the main character fell for the girl next door and all of her friends.

Pass.

They chose to swim closer to their room rather than go for a long walk considering that Veronica wanted them to eat dinner earlier that night. They swam and laid in the sun for about an hour before Betty received a text that she needed to go and get ready in Veronica’s room.

“I don’t know why they make you do that, you’re perfect as is,” Jughead complained.

“It’s more for them than for me. I don’t mind it, but they _love_ playing dress-up. I think it’s because neither of them had sisters growing up, so they didn’t get to do that whole thing. Me? I had Polly who had been using me like a Barbie doll for years.”

“You’re a good sister, Betty Cooper,” Jughead said quietly and kissed her hand.

It was over an hour later that they met them for dinner. It was at the same place that they had dinner the first night and in true anti-Jughead fashion, he decided to propose a toast. 

“To Park Ave princess and Red, the two most sneaky and conniving and generous people I’ve ever met. I’ve had chances to do things that I never would have had before thanks to you two. So, I love you, and we won’t speak of this toast again,” he said and tipped his glass in their direction.

“Okay, my turn!” Cheryl said eagerly. “I want to thank mother nature for being a real one this week and not having it be overcast or rainy the whole time. This would have been a real shitshow if she decided to fuck us over.”

They all drank again and Joaquin asked, “are we all going around? Because I have one. I want to thank Cheryl for blowing out my hair. I didn’t realize how hot it would make me. Well, hotter.”

“I don’t want to go,” Sweet Pea said. “But Reggie, because he really did rally every day and made me feel like less of a man, which is hard to do.”

They continued to go around, thanking Veronica and Cheryl for all that they did for them among other random things that they could think of until they were full and drunk and happy about their flight home tomorrow.

“I miss my hat,” Jughead said. His body felt warm from the booze and the heat and he wondered if he could stay like this forever.

But cooler, because he missed his hat.

“I think it’s time to get everyone back, no?” Betty asked the group. She was met with a chorus of “yes, mom”’s and “you’re no fun”’s but they all agreed anyway. 

Jughead threw his arm around her and whispered, “I have something for you.” She looked up at him and he smiled, kissing the top of her head. 

When they got to their room, he pulled her out to the porch and told her to sit there while he got it. He pulled a small velvet box out of one of his socks and walked out to where she was sitting on the outdoor couch.

“I know you told us no presents for your birthday, but I couldn’t resist,” he said and pulled the box from his pocket. Betty gasped and looked at him with teary eyes.

“Jughead Jones, what the hell are you doing?”

“It’s not a ring!” he said quickly, realizing what the panicked look on her face meant. “I promise, look.” 

He opened the box and handed it to her. 

“Jughead Jones,” she said in an awed whisper. She looked up at him with teary eyes and he smiled. 

“Give me your hand,” he murmured. She handed him the box and her hand and he unhooked the clasp on the charm bracelet that he had bought her while they were in New York. 

They had passed a “boutique” jewelry store that Cheryl dragged him into so she could pick something for Toni. Out of boredom, Jughead started looking around and found a small display case that held dainty charms and different types of bracelets. 

Not even bothering to ask the salesperson for the price, he picked out the bracelet he knew Betty would like and the charms to go with it.

“You shouldn’t have done this,” she whispered. “How am I ever going to give you a better gift than this,” she said through tears.

“Do you want me to put the damn thing on you and tell you what the charms mean or do you want to get mad at me for getting it for you?”

She grabbed his cheeks and kissed him hard.

“Tell me.”

He took her wrist and clasped it around her. Then he took a deep breath and explained.

“The first is the number eight. Because August is when I first noticed you, and couldn’t stop looking.”

“Then, the number ten, because that’s when I kissed you for the first time.”

“A ‘J,’ for obvious reasons.”

“A dog that I thought looked like Hot Dog, because, what the fuck, we have a dog,” he said, and Betty burst out laughing.

“Then we have a strawberry because, for a guy who was adamantly against anything fruity, you somehow made me addicted to the syrupy, artificial flavor of a Pop’s strawberry shake.”

“And finally,” he said, taking a deep breath, “I found this crown. Which was only fitting for the way our relationship started. But then I realized that it had a tiny diamond in one of the points of the crown, which made me realize that that may be the first one I give you, but certainly not the last.”

“Jughead,” she said through wet eyes. He smiled at her and kissed her softly. She looked at him again and then crawled into his lap and rested her head against his neck. She was toying with the charms with a small and genuine smile on her face. 

“This is the most beautiful gift I have ever received. I am going to cherish this week, this bracelet and you for the rest of my life.”

And Jughead knew she would.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sappy? Yes. Necessary? Also yes.
> 
> I MISSED you humans, wtf. I am so glad to be back. I've been writing like a crazy person with all of the DRAMA that happened but whatever. I was honestly close to making a whole new account and just copy-pasting the chapters into a new one. 
> 
> But I digress, I am back and there is so much more now, WOAH. 
> 
> Anyway, I love you. Let me know what you THINK!
> 
> Be safe this weekend if you are in the US. Stay home please! This fandom needs you.
> 
> Come tumble with me @blackberry-beee
> 
> Endless love for all of you.
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	23. (This Relationship's) Going Nowhere Anyway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How the honest fuck did we ever get through finals without color-coding things before?” Joaquin asked as he lifted his head from the table.
> 
> “We went to a school that didn’t care if we passed or not?” Toni answered with a question.
> 
> “We weren’t in love with Northsiders?” Fangs threw in and shot a look at Reggie.
> 
> “We didn’t know Betty?” Sweet Pea added.
> 
> “We didn’t know Betty _and_ Cheryl,” Jughead said finally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Tuesday!
> 
> I hope you enjoy, my loves!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the story.

_Passport— SZA_

When they got back from Mexico, they were thrown into a weird loop of stress and finals. They weren’t for another three weeks, but Betty, being the Hermione Granger that she was, made them camp out at Cheryl’s house to get ready for what was to come.

Not being in high school anymore.

It was a strange feeling for Jughead, as he had always assumed that he would fly under the radar for the rest of the school year and amount to nothing other than the role of Serpent leader that he was thrust into at sixteen.

But then the Southside high school shut down and he met a blonde girl with green eyes who loved strawberry milkshakes and taught him how to open up, and he realized that flying under the radar was fucking bullshit when you were in love with the sun.

Because Betty was the sun.

However, she was the sun with a coffee addiction and was close to running out of steam before the exams even started. 

“She needs to like, take a huge fucking nap,” Veronica said, scratching Hot Dog behind the ears. 

“She needs to take a huge fucking dick as far as I’m concerned,” Kevin added and put another piece of candy into his mouth.

“This conversation makes me uncomfortable,” Jughead said. “Besides, she’ll crash and burn and sleep it off for a weekend and then be back to her bubbly, Betty self.”

Veronica and Kevin shot him a look. The three of them were driving to Pop’s from Thornhill to go pick up Betty from her shift. Jughead, because he picked her up from any shift that he didn’t sit there for. Veronica, because she liked sitting in the back of Jughead’s Jeep and play with Hot Dog. And Kevin, because he wanted a chocolate shake and didn’t trust Veronica and Jughead enough to not drink it before they got home.

Home.

A strange concept for a guy who grew up in a trailer park and then moved in, alone, above a bar when he was sixteen.

Then an idea came to him.

“What if we fixed up my trailer this weekend. There’s an older motorcycle that Betty can tinker with to get her stress out, and Sweet Pea has been dying to tear down the front porch so he can have a bonfire,” he said.

Kevin and Veronica exchanged a look and then nodded in agreement.

“Working on cars and bikes and shit has been one of the only ways that Betty has been able to bring herself down from any emotional breakdown,” Veronica said.

“Yeah,” Kevin replied, “and Jughead thinks it’s hot.”

“I’m not going to argue with that,” he said smiling. 

“So it’s decided. We’ll spend this weekend on the Southside and hang out at the bar, which we haven’t done in _ages,_ and fix up the trailer,” Veronica said with conviction.

“That’s not true,” Kevin half yelled. “We were all there the night that Ethel fucked up.”

“ _No,_ ” Veronica stressed. “Betty and Jughead went upstairs and weren’t seen from again.”

Jughead chanced a glance at Veronica and smirked. “What can I say…”

“You can say _nothing,_ ” Kevin interrupted.

They pulled into the Pop’s parking lot and saw Betty chatting with an older waitress who was about to take over her shift. Kevin hopped out and slammed the door behind him. 

“Stop slamming my doors!” Jughead yelled. “And get me a strawberry!”

“I already have one,” Betty said surprising him as she slid into the front seat. She placed the sweating to-go cup in the holder in the center console and leaned over to kiss him.

Jughead pulled away to yell, “never mind,” at Kevin’s retreating form. Then he turned to Betty. “Hi, beautiful.”

“Ugh, disgusting,” Veronica muttered with a smile.

“You didn’t have to come with me,” Jughead said, stressing each word.

“No, but I wanted to.”

Jughead turned back to Betty. “How was work?”

“Boring,” she sighed, pulling off her skirt and tugging on a pair of biker shorts. Then she tore off her top and pulled a sweatshirt on over her head. And in one swift movement, she removed her bra even though she still had the shirt on.

She was incredible.

“I reiterate my statement of ‘ugh, disgusting,’” Veronica chimed in.

“You aren’t allowed to ride with me anymore,” Jughead said, his eyes never leaving Betty.

_I am going to do things to you later._

“Why was it boring?” he asked, gauging her reaction and hoping he didn’t voice his thoughts like he did their last day in Mexico.

“Not many people came in. Reggie stopped by before heading over to the house, but other than that, nothing,” she sighed.

Jughead grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. “We have a surprise for you.”

“Who’s we?” Betty asked skeptically.

“Kevin, Veronica and me,” Jughead said in a calm voice.

“Oh,” Betty said with an exhale. “Okay, what is it?”

“We’re gonna tear apart Jughead’s trailer this weekend and clean it up and you will get to fix up the motorcycle!” Veronica squealed. At that moment, Kevin got back into the car, chocolate milkshake in hand.

“What’d I miss?” he asked mid-sip.

“Well I just told Betty, but she hasn’t reacted yet,” Veronica explained. “So? What do you think?”

Betty sat there for a moment and stared at Jughead. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head in her direction, silent asking what she thought. She sighed and rolled her eyes, which Jughead took to meaning, “I mean… I guess.” 

“She’s in,” Jughead said, eyes never leaving hers. 

Ever since they left Mexico, Jughead had felt more protective of Betty. She hadn’t crashed from the “conversation” with her mom, but he watched as she looked longingly down Elm St. but then quickly turned away. 

It was the same as when he visited the trailer, which is why he felt slightly selfish at the thought of asking his friends to help him fix it up when he knew that they would just be working him through his trauma.

Which, he figured, he did for them too. But he still felt too guilty.

Betty turned and grabbed the not so small puppy from the back seat and plopped him on her lap. She rolled down the window and let the cool spring air whip past her face. Hot Dog pressed his nose against her cheek and tried to nuzzle his way out the window.

“Ah, ah,” Jughead yelled, pulling him back. “The last time you did that you almost though yourself out of the window. So sit your little ass back down.”

The whole car was silent and Jughead rolled his eyes. “What, you’ve never talked to the dog like that?”

“Oh, we have,” Veronica said, “we’ve just never heard _you_ talk to the dog like that.”

“Speaking of the dog,” Kevin piped up, “are we going to trade him back and forth between the two apartments like we do here? And have a walking schedule? And where is he going to run? And-“

“Kev, honey,” Jughead said, “if you want to be in charge of coordinating these things, by all means, please do. But otherwise, we’ll play it by ear as we always have.”

“Did you just call him honey?” Veronica asked. Jughead rolled his eyes and ignored her. He turned into the Thornhill driveway and ushered everyone out of the car except for Betty, who he grabbed onto before she could open the door.

“Talk to me,” he whispered against her hand. She smiled at him and closed her eyes.

“I just don’t like the idea of taking an entire weekend off just so we can do work on the trailer or a bike. I feel like we need to continue studying.”

“Baby,” he stressed. “All you do is worry about the exams. Taking forty-eight hours off isn’t going to deduct points from your final grade, okay?”

Betty nodded and scratched behind Hot Dog’s ears. “I just don’t want to fail,” she admitted.

“I know,” he said. “But that’s the Alice in you talking. You know you aren’t going to fail. You know how good of a student you are. And deep down, you know how much you need to take a break.”

After a few moments, Betty rolled her eyes and leaned over to kiss him. He met her in the middle and cupped her cheek. “You’re going to be okay,” he whispered. “I can promise you that.”

“Oh you can?” she asked with a smirk.

“Yes. It’s my job as your boyfriend and protective gang leader to keep you happy.”

“I thought that was Sweet Pea’s job,” she joked as she jumped out of the Jeep. She let Hot Dog down and he scampered over to the door. 

“Remind me to hit Sweet Pea in the dick later,” Jughead groaned.

“Why?” Betty asked alarmed. “What did he do?”

Jughead rolled his eyes and thought back to earlier that day when they were sitting in the Blue and Gold waiting for Betty. 

“Even though I think of Coop as a sister,” Sweet Pea stated out of nowhere, “I’d still do her. In a foursome only, because I’d wanna see her and Veronica. I don’t know how I’d feel about doing things with _you_ though…” he trailed off.

Jughead tried so hard to not dignify his statement with a response but genuinely couldn’t hold it in.

“What the honest fuck?” he exploded.

“What?” Sweet Pea asked in genuine shock. 

“Don’t you somehow think of both me and Betty as your siblings? So wouldn’t that make you, Sweet Pea, a person fucking his brother and sister?”

“Yeah, except no,” he said, clearly having given this some thought. “Two wrongs _do_ make a right in this situation. So you’re not my brother and she’s not my sister.”

_Don’t say anything, Jughead._

“But what would happen later?”

_I literally told you not to say anything._

“We’d all vow to never talk about it ever again.”

“But what if we did?”

“We wouldn’t.”

“How do you know?” Jughead asked.

“Look, I’ll let you kiss Veronica and then you can see if you two ever talk about it again.” 

“That’s sexist,” Jughead pointed out. Sweet Pea shrugged guiltily. “Why wouldn’t you kiss Betty?” he asked. He knew that somehow making Sweet Pea feel like “less of a man,” would back him into a corner and say something that Jughead could use against him. This whole conversation of having a foursome was not something he ever wanted to imagine, but there he was, picturing Veronica and Betty making out while he and Sweet Pea jerked themselves off.

He was more disgusted about how turned on he got than the image itself.

“I wouldn’t kiss Coop because I know you’d hit me in the nuts,” Sweet Pea said simply while looking at his phone. Then he pushed himself off the couch. “We have to head over to your car, actually. She’s waiting for us there.”

“Why is she texting you and not me?” Jughead wondered out loud. He pulled out his phone to say something to her but saw that she had already texted him.

**Betty Cooper— 1:42pm:** Hey Beanie Boy. Can you and Pea meet me at your Jeep? I don’t feel like walking back inside

**Betty Cooper— 1:44pm:** Jughead?

**Betty Cooper— 1:45pm:** Forsythe I’m going to be late

**Betty Cooper— 1:48pm:** I’m texting Sweet Pea

Jughead groaned and shoved his phone back into his pocket. He had gotten so wrapped up in the image of Betty and Veronica that he didn’t even feel his phone vibrate.

Or maybe he did.

But he liked it too much.

Somehow, just as bad as being turned on by the idea of his girlfriend and her best friend slash his sister making out for him to see. 

He discreetly readjusted his pants as he walked out to his car, and out of the corner of his eye, saw Sweet Pea do the same.

“I need you to kiss Sweet Pea when we get inside, actually,” Jughead said to Betty. “He uh, he brought up this idea of you, me, him, and Park Ave having a foursome, and I told him that if he ever kissed you, I’d hit him in the dick,” he answered honestly.

“I have so many questions,” Betty said, slowly shutting her door and coming around to the driver’s side. She lifted herself so she was sitting on the hood of his car. Strawberry milkshake in hand, she spread her legs slightly so he could step between them. 

He placed himself where she wanted him and he was reminded of the first night he interacted with Cheryl and Veronica over margaritas and not enough clothing.

“I mean ask away. I don’t want to go inside yet,” he said.

“Why did he bring this up?”

“He said he had been thinking about it for a while. Which knowing him, is completely plausible.”

“Hmm,” Betty said. “How did the topic of kissing me come up?”

“He said that we would all just know to never talk about it again. So he told me that I should kiss Park Ave and see if we ever speak of it. But then he told me that he knew to not try and kiss you so I wouldn’t hit him in the dick.”

“Interesting,” she replied and took a sip of her shake. “Honestly, I’d prefer to have a threesome with Toni and Cheryl and let you watch. Too many penises in one party is never a good sign.”

Jughead’s dick twitched at the idea of the three girls rubbing themselves together and getting each other off, but chose to table that thought for later on.

“Anyway, can you please go inside and kiss him? I can’t hit him if I don’t have a reason to.”

“No,” Betty said. “I really don’t want to do that.”

Jughead leaned in and smiled. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, “then you absolutely don’t have to.”

She cupped his face and pressed a kiss to each cheek before kissing him squarely on the mouth. 

He deepened it more than he needed to. 

“I need to help Reggie study for calc,” Betty said, sliding off of the hood. “Have you noticed that he and Fangs are being weird?” she asked.

“They’re not being weird, babe. You’re just way too stressed out by things. Next week, Toni and Cheryl will have gotten each other pregnant,” he replied and pulled her towards the door. 

“With those two, I honestly don’t doubt that it could happen,” she said with a laugh. “But for real, something is going on with them. Maybe they’re trying to find a way to move in together and have Reggie come to New York,” she mused.

“Or maybe they broke up.”

“They didn’t break up, you idiot. Don’t you think Reggie _wouldn’t_ be sitting on the couch with his arm around Fangs if they had broken up?”

Jughead looked at them through the window and thought about it. He didn’t think that they would still be hanging out if they had broken up, but he did notice that they had been acting strange since they got back from Mexico. 

But he didn’t want to encourage the obsessive thoughts in Betty’s head that her friends might not be together anymore, so he figured he’d play it cool, but touch base with Fangs as soon as he had a moment. 

“Let’s go inside, baby. Everything is fine. And if it’s not, we’ll work through it as a family. We always do.” 

Betty smiled at him and leaned against his shoulder. He felt slightly guilty about not telling her the whole truth about his thoughts about Fangs and Reggie, but he knew that regardless of the situation, it wasn’t his place to intervene. 

It wasn’t a lie like what he told Betty before they went to New York, but it was a lie nonetheless.

“Wait,” he said, pulling her back. She looked at him with questioning eyes and Jughead took a deep breath. “I do think something is up with them. I don’t know what it is about and I don’t want to get involved. But I didn’t want to lie to you and potentially make you think you were crazy and didn’t have anyone to talk to about it. So I’m always here to bounce things off of, but I don’t think it’s our place to ask questions or try to fix things,” Jughead said carefully. 

Betty looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you for telling me the truth, Juggie.”

_I don’t deserve you._

They walked hand in hand back to the house and Jughead thought back to his first time at Thornhill, before he thought of it “home.” A place where he wanted to start and finish his day. 

A place filled with people he loved.

When they got to the house, Betty dropped her bag on the floor and walked into the kitchen where Jughead knew she’d find Cheryl and Veronica cooking a huge pot of pasta and a salad.

“Babiesss!” Betty yelled as she stormed through the house. He watched as Veronica handed her a glass of wine and effortlessly enveloped her into the conversation that she and Cheryl were having. 

“Remember when those were the girls we were afraid of encountering when we got to Riverdale?” Toni said as she walked up behind him.

“I remember when I hated Red with a burning passion because of her last name. And now I live in her house and she can eat food off of my plate without being attacked,” Jughead said exasperatedly.

Toni laughed and punched him in the shoulder. “Have you noticed anything weird about Fangs and Reggie?”

“Oh my god, I do not want to talk about Fangs and Reggie anymore! Betty just grilled me about it outside. Why would anyone think I knew what was going on?”

“Well,” Toni said slowly and stepped in front of him. “You are like, everyone’s boss still. And everyone’s best friend. And one of the most important people in our lives so…”

“Okay well by that logic, someone should have been able to talk to Betty too!”

“Betty is only _figuratively_ our boss. You? You still run a gang that we are a part of. And you _still_ will be running a gang, even when you’re living in a million-dollar apartment in New York City. So calm down, kid,” she said with a smile.

“I’m older than you.”

“And that sentence alone is what makes you a kid.”

Jughead rolled his eyes. “Fine! If one more person asks me a question about Fangs and Reggie, I’ll talk to Fangs, okay?”

“Don’t do anything you don’t want to do,” she said with sincerity. “But if you decide that you want to, you’re the person he’s going to open up to first. He loves us all, and he one-hundred percent trusts us. But he trusts you the most.”

Jughead rolled his eyes and vowed, again, to stay out of the entire situation. The last thing he wanted to do was to get into unnecessary boy drama, and he knew that the last thing that he would want if he and Betty were having issues was to have them all butt in.

Oh wait, they already did that. 

And it was the dumbest experience in the world. It took that much longer to actually work through their shit because they were getting texts with opinions every ten to twenty minutes.

He was staying out of it.

He grabbed Betty’s bag inside from the hall and placed it on the table next to his chair. He pulled his chair out and sat down, opening his book to the last chapter he had read and started color-coding the different things he needed to write his paper.

Color coding things was never something he had done before, but Cheryl and Betty had changed him completely, and he didn’t know he had ever survived a finals week without them.

“How the honest fuck did we ever get through finals without color-coding things before?” Joaquin asked as he lifted his head from the table.

“We went to a school that didn’t care if we passed or not?” Toni answered with a question.

“We weren’t in love with Northsiders?” Fangs threw in and shot a look at Reggie.

_There is no way I'm getting involved now._

“We didn’t know Betty?” Sweet Pea added.

“We didn’t know Betty _and_ Cheryl,” Jughead said finally.

“Do you think we’re actually going to pass?” Fangs as, playing with Reggie’s fingers.

_They’re just finding a way to ask us if Reggie can move with us. Which isn’t up to me. I am sharing a spot with Sweet Pea and Toni anyway. I’m not sure if Cheryl intentionally split us up into “straight” and “gay” roommates or if she just didn’t want to break up Betty and Sweet Pea._

“The finals at Riverdale aren’t as hard as the girls are making it seem. I barely attended a few of my classes last year and still passed,” Reggie said.

“Okay, but did you pass with a good grade or did you just pass?” Kevin asked. “Because I attended all of my classes and took extensive notes, _and_ attended Betty’s crazy study Bootcamp and only got high B’s.”

“That’s not encouraging, Kev!” Joaquin yelled at his boyfriend. “We’ve all ditched so much school this year it’s insane. _And_ half of us started at Riverdale at the end of September.”

“Maybe that’s why Betty is flipping her shit,” Toni mused. “Isn’t she used to perfect attendance? Like even though we have all turned in our work and never missed a test or quiz, she still hasn’t attended every lecture or whatever.”

The table was silent. 

Toni was right. Betty wasn’t used to missing so much school. Jughead knew that at the beginning of the year, Betty would walk to school with Archie Andrews and get to class fifteen minutes early, books out, notes ready and pens perfectly aligned on her desk.

“So she’s effectively losing her mind?” Sweet Pea asked, nervously chewing the end of his pencil. 

“Oh!” Jughead suddenly said. “We’re gonna spend the weekend on the Southside. We’ll have a fun bar thing on Friday at Veronica’s request and sleep at the apartment. Then on Saturday we’re gonna clean up the trailer and fix it up a bit— yes, Sweets, you get to rip the porch off. Then Betty will get a chance to tinker with my bike and Sweet Pea can start a bonfire with the rest of the porch material.”

“I was also in favor of this idea,” Kevin chimed in. “In case anyone was wondering.” 

“I think that sounds awesome,” Fangs said, completely ignoring Kevin. “I can’t even remember the last time we all got to drink together.”

“That’s what I said!” Kevin exclaimed. 

“Kevin,” Jughead sighed, “no one gives a flying fuck.”

* * *

Betty couldn’t stop thinking about Alice Cooper. 

She had gone many months without even thinking about the name or missing her pink, pink room on Elm St., or the insane dietary restrictions or the monitored TV time. But then Jughead reached out to Alice about strawberry cake and Betty couldn’t stop thinking about when things were good.

Like, in the before.

When her parents argued over nailing shut her windows because she could see Archie through them. When she would be walked to school by Archie each morning and was handed a bagel to help satiate the gnawing hunger monster that lived in the pit of her stomach. Or when her dad gave her her first set of tools and Alice stood disapprovingly in the doorway but never actually voiced that disapproval. 

These weren’t things that Betty thought about in the present. But now it was all-consuming. 

Even as she lay on the ground next to Jughead’s bike and tightened a bolt near the engine, an act that she would normally find so comforting, she was distracted by thoughts of the before and the after, events blurring together sickeningly.

It didn’t help that she was absolutely convinced that Fangs and Reggie had broken up.

When they pulled up to the bar on Friday night, Reggie had been over-enthusiastic about things that he normally would have been fairly chill about. At the end of the night, after he had danced with Veronica in a way that made Betty question his intentions, he made an excuse about having drunk too much and needing to go home.

He had only taken one shot.

On Saturday when Betty texted him to see what he wanted for breakfast from Pop’s, he never responded, and waited a good two hours before making up some lie about having not seen her text.

He was one of the first people to open her Snapchat story. 

Now, as Joaquin sang “Hi Ho, Hi Ho,” at the top of his lungs Reggie was still nowhere to be found and Betty figured that he wouldn’t be showing up at all.

Jughead had over and over again tried to convince her that they were just trying to figure out a way to tell them that Reggie wanted to move in with them, but Betty couldn’t be swayed.

Veronica skipped over and laid down on the ground next to her. Betty turned her head and smiled. She and Cheryl had both borrowed a pair of overalls so they wouldn’t feel weird about laying on the ground and getting themselves dirty. Betty grinned at the beads of sweat perched delicately on Veronica’s brow.

“You’re sweating,” Betty pointed out.

“So is Cheryl!” she replied defensively. 

“I _literally_ have not seen Cheryl since we got here, so how the hell was I supposed to know that she was sweating?” Betty asked.

“Sorry, B,” Veronica said. “You know I don’t enjoy being hot.”

“But you always are, baby,” Sweet Pea said from above them. Betty grinned and stood up. She wrapped one arm and Sweet Pea’s middle and then extended the other so Veronica could fold herself in. She giggled and stood up before stepping into the hug. 

Betty smiled. “Is this how the fantasy starts, Pea?” she asked deviously.

“What fantasy?” Veronica asked, pulling back to look at them both.

“Oh you know,” Betty said devilishly, “the one where the four of us have a foursome.”

“Who’s the fourth?” Veronica asked. Then a dumb expression crossed her face and she blushed. “Oh yeah, Jug.”

“Oh yeah,” Jughead mocked from behind them. He was wearing only a tank top and his jeans slung low on his hips. His beanie was still perched on his head even though his shirt was soaked through. 

He looked delicious.

“Wait so,” Veronica said and stepped away. “Pea, you have a fantasy of the four of us fucking and you told them before me?”

“Well _I_ didn’t tell Betty. But yeah, I told Jughead,” he admitted.

“Interesting,” she mused. “How would we keep it a secret?”

“Honestly,” Betty said, “I think the only way to do this would to just be a family orgy and hope for the fucking best.”

“Ooh! We could officially be a cult then! No one could enter without having fucked us all, gender be damned!” Veronica yelled.

“I hate this so much,” Jughead groaned and walked away. Betty laughed and headed in his direction.

“What, you don’t want to fuck new members of our cult?” she asked.

“Ha ha,” he fake laughed. “I only want to fuck you or maybe watch you fuck Red. But that’s it.”

_Oh?_

“I’m filing that for later,” Betty said with a wink. “Anyway, I think your bike is rideable now so you can try it whenever you want.”

“You’re amazing,” he said and kissed her face. They walked back over to the trailer and found Cheryl and Toni going to work on the inside, taking out everything that they could and separating them into piles of, “trash,” “usable,” and “donate.” Kevin, Fangs, and Joaquin were power-washing the back of the trailer so it didn’t look like it had completely rusted over. 

Jughead had taken charge of ripping up all of the overgrown leaves and vines and plants that had encroached the porch and up the side of the trailer. He kept adding foliage to the pile of rotted out wood that was once Jughead’s porch.

“My dad used to sit on the porch at night and drink beers with his Serpent buddies when he thought I was asleep. I always figured the same would go for me,” Jughead said and handed a big pile of sticks to bring over to the pile.

“You never saw yourself tearing the porch apart and moving to New York with a bunch of random teenagers?” Betty joked.

“Oh absolutely not,” Jughead laughed.

Betty tried hard to not bring up the topic of Fangs and Reggie, but she couldn’t help herself. “Reggie’s not here,” she said off-handedly.

“Oh my god that I don’t believe in, can you drop it?” Jughead half-yelled. “I am so fucking sick of all of this _not,_ drama. If there is something up, they’re going to tell us. And that’s the last time I want to say that to anyone. It feels disrespectful to them and I don’t want to be the person who barges into their relationship!”

_Woah._

“You’re right,” she said softly and leaned in next to him. “I wouldn’t want people in our relationship either.”

Jughead sighed and stood up. “I’m sorry. I’m just so fed up with all of the speculations around things that generally don’t concern us. As I’ve said to everyone in the last week, it’s not our business at all.”

“Jughead,” Betty said, starting to get frustrated. “I’m not trying to ask you to talk to them, okay? But earlier this week you said that if I wanted to talk about it, especially if I’m worried, that you’d be my person for it.”

He grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry I snapped,” he said.

“I’m sorry I keep bringing it up,” she responded. She looked up at Jughead and kissed his cheek. “I can’t stop thinking about Alice, actually,” she admitted.

“I get that,” Jughead said. “Being here… it’s like being in a time machine. Only I can see what’s going to happen and I want to scream out to the world and tell little Jughead to try to change their decisions now while they still have the chance.”

Betty leaned her head against his chest. “You can scream as loud as you want, my love. But scream so loud that little Jughead knows that everything ends up alright in the end. Tell him that he becomes strong and noble and independent. Tell him that he falls in love with a girl and her crazy Northside friends and finally has family that accepts him exactly as he is.”

Jughead placed his head on top of hers and Betty could feel him rub his eyes into her hair. 

“You, Betty Cooper, are magic. Just pure magic.” 

She smiled at him and pulled back. Handing him his pliers she threw him a wink and headed towards the trailer where Toni and Cheryl were talking about a party that they were going to throw as soon as finals were over. 

“Should we make it another costume party?” Cheryl asked. “Maybe a masquerade type situation!”

“No one is going to be down to get _that_ dressed up, Cher. People are going to want to get drunk and dance,” Toni pointed out.

“You’re telling me that if you were dressed up like a princess that you wouldn’t dance and drink? People do it at the Oscars after-parties all the time!”

“What if we do a twenties themed party? Fringe and sequins and moonshine?” Betty offered. 

It was as if a bomb exploded behind Cheryl’s eyes and she started talking a mile a minute. The plans were unraveling as Betty scrubbed the kitchen counters with more bleach than she had ever used before. 

She was trying to envision Jughead growing up here. Where he slept, where his parents slept, his sister. Did they sit on the couch and watch TV and eat dinner? Were they the type of family that didn’t eat together at all?

Betty knew that this whole situation was probably incredibly hard for him, and she didn’t want to make it worse by adding pressure about her friends. 

It just wasn’t something she had ever thought about. Her friends splitting up.

But maybe Jughead was right. Maybe they were just worried about asking them about New York. Maybe he really was sick and couldn’t come that day.

She was trying not to assume the worst. 

The worst was confirmed when they were sitting around the bonfire that Jughead and Sweet Pea made later that night. 

“Is Reggie coming?” Joaquin asked and looked at Fangs. 

Fangs said nothing and sipped his beer and Betty could see that he was trying not to cry. The last time they sat around a fire like this, Fangs refused to tell them who he had a crush on and almost died of alcohol poisoning because he didn’t want to answer.

Betty stood up and walked over to him. She sat down on his right and snaked her arm through his, dropping her head to his shoulder. 

No one said anything. 

His silence answered the question of whether or not Reggie was coming, but didn’t at all confirm their thoughts on… other things. 

Fangs stayed quiet and Cheryl passed him a s’more. He smiled at her and Betty pushed herself closer to him. She made eye contact with Jughead, who was sitting across from him, and raised an eyebrow. 

“Talk to us, Fangsey,” Cheryl said quietly. “You know no matter what you’re thinking, we’ve all got your back, right?”

Fangs nodded his head yes but still said nothing. He leaned his head against Betty’s and she could tell by the look on Jughead’s face that he was crying.

“We’re uh,” he said in a thick voice, “we’ve decided that after graduation we aren’t going to continue seeing each other. Like we aren’t going to do long-distance. And we’ll probably just stop talking altogether.”

No one spoke as they let him have his moment. They had all been through heartbreak before, but Betty knew that none of them had ever been in a situation where they had introduced their partner to their family, and then left so shortly after.

Betty couldn’t begin to fathom what Fangs must have been going through in that moment.

“I’m not going to ask if you’re okay,” Veronica said softly, “because I know that’s just not true. But are you okay with the decision?”

Fangs shrugged and the top of Betty’s head slammed against his chin.

She said nothing.

“It was my idea. We were in Mexico and I was looking at him and looking at all of you and I realized that I just didn’t feel the same way about him as you all feel about each other. And I want that, whether it’s a guy or a girl. But I don’t want a long-distance relationship that’s going to fizzle out in a few weeks or months.”

Betty could kind of understand where he was coming from. She wouldn’t want to be dating, say, Archie, and then move to another part of the state if she didn’t think he was her soulmate.

“Why are you waiting until graduation?” Kevin asked. 

“We leave right after. And there is still so much we want to do together. And neither of us want him to leave the group until he has to.” He paused. “And… we still love each other. It didn’t make sense to say goodbye when we didn’t have to.”

“This is,” Sweet Pea said slowly and Betty found herself holding her breath, “very adult of you Fangsey. And I’m really sorry you’re going through this.”

“Did you just give a genuine apology?” Toni blurted out.

“You just ruined my good moment,” he responded. “They’re so rare.”

Betty laughed and lifted her head to look at Fangs. He met her eyes and she placed a small kiss to his cheek. 

“Thanks, Bethany,” Fangs said with a smile.

“For what?” she asked confused.

“For always knowing the right thing to say.”

Betty smiled and squeezed his hand. Then she got up so she could sit on the ground at Jughead’s feet. He tipped her head back and kissed her lips deeply. She smiled against the kiss and pulled away slowly. 

“I told you I’d always make sure you’re okay, Betty Cooper,” he said with a smile. Betty snuggled between his legs and took the blanket that Veronica handed to her. 

She looked at Fangs from across the circle and saw that he was smiling sadly at his phone and she knew that he just told Reggie what had happened. She sent him a small wave when he looked up at her and he returned it.

Twenty minutes later, Reggie’s truck pulled up to the clearing they were sitting in and he jumped out. 

Walking over to them he yelled, “why aren’t you all drinking!”

“We are Reg,” Jughead called from above her. “You’re just too far away from us to see what’s going on.”

Reggie came over and sat down next to Fangs. He put his arm around him and Betty saw that Fangs was no longer holding back tears but smiling hugely at them all.

“If this is what you guys want,” Sweet Pea said, “then we are gonna respect it.”

“Why is Sweet Pea being so rational today?” Joaquin asked. 

“I don’t want to hear anything from you, dad-Quin,” he jokingly scolded.

The rest of the night was spent listening to music, drinking the cheap beer that Reggie procured from his truck, and planning Cheryl’s party. 

“So it’s going to be 1920s themed,” Reggie clarified. “Not twenties, like ‘your twenties are the best years of your life?’”

“Reginald why would we be having anything other than a 1920s themed party?” Cheryl asked. “Have you met me?”

“Unfortunately.”

Betty snorted at this and added, “either could be cool to be honest. But I think a 1920s theme party is going to allow Cheryl the opportunity to wear the vintage dresses she keeps hidden in her closets.”

“Fair,” Reggie and Cheryl said at the same time.

“What the hell do guys wear to one of these parties?” Fangs asked.

“Suits,” Cheryl answered simply. 

“Obviously,” Fangs said in a sarcastic voice. “And if we don’t have suits?”

“You all have suits,” Veronica said carefully. It wasn’t a question, just a very slow and calculated answer.

“What, no we don’t?” Jughead asked.

“No,” Betty sighed. “You do.”

“Would uh,” Kevin said quietly, “anyone like to explain?”

Toni decided to answer this one. “We knew that you all didn’t have suits. We figured you’d need them for graduation and any other occasion. We took it upon ourselves to buy you some nice suits.”

“Suits? Plural?” Jughead said, looking at Betty.

“I mean…”

“Coop where did you even come up with the money to buy people suits? Not to be offensive, but I don’t think your Pop’s tips could easily cover that cost,” Sweet Pea said.

“I got my blossom inheritance the day I turned eighteen,” Betty explained looking down. “When Clifford died and it was outed that we were actually Blossoms, not Coopers, I was added into their will.”

“You mean to tell me that you’ve been working at Pop’s for fun this whole time?” Joaquin asked.

“I mean, not for fun. But yes, I did know that I was going to have access to my trust when I turned eighteen.” She looked up at Jughead who was smiling at her. She had told him all of this one drunken night in Mexico when she asked him if he wanted a new Jeep.

He said no. 

But they did buy new Bluetooth and noise-canceling headphones to use when they wanted to do work in cafés or at the library or just didn’t want to hear Sweet Pea and Veronica. 

“So you’re as rich as Cheryl and Veronica?” Toni confirmed.

“No,” Betty said quickly. 

But Cheryl chimed in, “but close enough.”

“We aren’t talking about this anymore,” Betty said and they dropped the subject.

They stayed out in the clearing until the fire was just warm-colored coals at Cheryl had fallen asleep on Toni’s shoulder. Sweet Pea picked her up and carried her back to Jughead’s where they all quietly slipped into pajamas and lay down in their designated sleep spots.

Smelling of sweet smoke and tangy beer, Betty snuggled herself into Jughead’s chest and asked, “if we ever break up, promise we will stay friends so we don’t split up the family.”

Jughead pulled back so he could look at her. He wove his fingers through her hair and said, “Betty, baby. I’m not going to make a promise about breaking up. We’re just beginning our lives together. There’s no need to come up with a contingency plan.” 

He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close again. “But if it will make you feel better. I promise that _if_ we ever break up, I promise to do everything in my power to communicate and work things through with you so that our relationship, no matter what it is, remains healthy.”

And that was perfectly fine with Betty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me. Like fr. I am planning on doing a sequel in the future and in order for that to happen I had to do this.  
> Our dear Reginald isn't going anywhere for the rest of this story though.
> 
> Come tumble with me! Only a few chapters left... what the honest fuck?! @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	24. All Is Well & All Is Cool

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He was angry with them for tricking him, angry with Toni for actually deceiving him, and making it seem like she had absolutely no idea where Betty was and making him think the worst, angry with Betty for being so mischievous and probably just giggling at his expense behind a stall door. But on top of that, he was mostly angry at himself for not believing Betty in the first place. For brushing her off about Andrews. 
> 
> It was an uncomfortable feeling of guilt that was slowly pressing in on all sides. Logically he knew that there was nothing short of punching Archie again that would have accomplished anything that had happened earlier in the day. However, he could have paid more attention to her stress regarding Andrews and maybe walked her into class.
> 
> Except he was trying to be less of a helicopter boyfriend/gang leader with abandonment issues these days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all I finally finished moving and have all my time back!
> 
> Enjoy this one!
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, just the story

_Cornbread, Fish and Collard Greens– Anthony Hamilton_

Archie Andrews was acting really fucking weird. 

And not even in his usual way. Most of the time he avoided all contact with Betty and her friends, including Reggie. Most of the time he moved across the hallway when he saw Jughead and Sweet Pea headed in his direction. 

Most of the time he left them alone altogether.

But all during finals week he had been all up in their business. He made it a point to walk as close to them as possible, pass by their lunch table, and on the rare occasion that Betty wasn’t with one of her friends, he would wave to her as if nothing had ever been wrong.

Betty had hoped that this would never happen. That she would graduate high school and move to New York without ever having another interaction with Archie ever again. After all they had been through when they were friends and the things he did to her when they weren’t, Betty figured that she was at least owed the courtesy of being ignored.

Except he wasn’t ignoring her anymore. He was paying _too_ much attention. 

Her chemistry teacher had split the class in half for their exams and divided them per lab table, so Fangs and Betty were in one group and Toni and Jughead were in the other. Jughead was obviously averse to this split because even though he had studied hard and Betty was sure that he would do a good job, he was counting on looking over to his right and peeking at Betty’s answers. 

Betty wasn’t sure about that and knew that that teacher had a reputation for splitting the class in half and having the exam take place over two different periods. 

She didn’t mention that to Jughead though. 

The other downside of having the group split in half was that there was a certain ex-chem partner who was stuck in their group. Betty had turned around and looked in Toni’s direction when her name was called and found Archie instead. When they met eyes he smiled at her, and Betty whipped around so fast that her ponytail smacked Jughead in the face.

“What the fuck was that for?” he hissed at her.

“I turned around to look at Toni when I realized we were in the same group and Archie fucking smiled at me,” she hissed in return. “It’s not like I’m trying to abuse you my hair, Beanie Boy.”

At that moment their teacher dismissed them and let them know that if they were in the room any later than five minutes past the hour that it would be an automatic fail and they wouldn’t graduate.

Which obviously sent Betty into a tailspin.

“Breath, Bethany,” Toni said in a soothing voice. “You’re ten minutes early to class when we don’t have an exam day so I’m not sure why you think you’re going to be ten minutes _late_ tomorrow.

“Because she’s fucking psycho,” Fangs said without looking up from his phone. Jughead had just finished packing up his bag and punched him lightly in the shoulder.

“Don’t call her a psycho,” he said in a condescending tone and kissed Betty on the shoulder. “Only I get to do that.”

“Whatever,” Betty said annoyed. “I’m honestly less worried about being late, but don’t get me wrong, I am very worried, but more worried about what Archie is going to do.”

Jughead’s brow furrowed and Fangs stood in a defensive position and Toni stopped stroking Betty’s shoulder.

“How do you know he’s going to do something,” she asked slowly and resumed her ministrations.

Betty sighed and tried to find the best way to explain it to them. “When I went to go look at you about the exam schedule, I met eyes with Archie instead because he was staring so intensely at me. He smiled. And it wasn’t a genuine smile, but a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, which,” she pointed out, “were cold, to begin with.”

They were all quiet for a moment until Jughead spoke up, shocking them all. “I don’t mean to be patronizing Betts, and you know for a fact that I hate Archie as much _if not more_ than Sweet Pea does. But I think you might be a bit paranoid about the test and instead of focusing on that you’re focusing on Archie.”

Betty said there open-mouthed and tried to not be offended by what Jughead was saying. It wasn’t like she _wanted_ to be right about Archie and his motives but she _knew_ him. She was “in love” with him for so long that she learned everything about the way he held himself.

And this was no different. 

“Okay,” she breathed, trying to maybe get behind Jughead’s logic. “But if he comes after me, you’re paying for my hospital bill,” she joked.

Fangs glowered at her. “Don’t fucking say that dude! Remember what happened last time you met Archie in a deserted hallway? You left wearing Jughead’s clothes and your own blood!”

“Are we talking about the time I beat the shit out of Archie on our third day here?” Sweet Pea asked, surprising them all as he walked up behind them. They were all dismissed after their second classes as they had no exams or requirements for the rest of the day. 

“What the hell are we still doing in here?” he asked. “Class was dismissed like ten minutes ago and we’ve all been waiting in the parking lot for you guys.”

“Betty is convinced that Archie is plotting against her,” Toni explained and stood up. 

“Why?” Sweet Pea asked as his eyes turned hard. Turning to Betty he asked, “what did he do?”

Embarrassed now that she had to tell Sweet Pea she mumbled, “he smiled and me.”

Sweet Pea’s eyes stayed just as hard as they had been before and didn’t move. He seemed to be contemplating what she had said before brushing it off like everyone else.

“Look, Coop,” he said softly. “You know I hate Archie just as much, _if not more_ than Jughead does, but I think you’re just worried about so much else and a little look and smile doesn’t mean your death, even from Andrews.”

“I said the same fucking thing!” Jughead said in an awed voice.

“It’s true,” Fangs agreed. “I was there.”

They all stood up and walked out of the room. “No shit you were there, Fangsey,” Toni said. “We were _all_ there.”

Betty gave a half-laugh that didn’t reach her chest and walked aimlessly out to the cars. Sweet Pea threw his arm around her and she tried to act calm and cool throughout the whole thing but continued to have a sick feeling of pure dread in her stomach the entire car ride back to Thornhill.

She was laying on her favorite couch in the living room when Veronica came in and sat directly on her. 

“What’s got your gab, baby girl?” she asked in a fake southern drawl.

“I hate you.”

“You don’t,” Veronica replied and kept the same accent.

“No,” Betty sighed, “I don’t.”

“For real though,” Veronica said in her normal voice, “what’s got you down?”

Betty turned her head so she could see Jughead and Sweet Pea “making dinner” in the kitchen. Meaning throwing all of the leftovers from the weekend into the oven to heat up rather than the microwave to make it seem “brand new.”

“Oh you know,” she said and turned back to Veronica. “Finals.”

On the morning of her chemistry test, Jughead kissed her hard outside of the classroom ten minutes before the exam started and whispered all of the right things about how brilliant she was in her ear before she walked in. She was holding a strawberry milkshake that Jughead surprised her with before they had even left and taken a sip as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. 

She giggled against his chest and kissed him one last time before heading in and sitting down. She had hoped that Toni would go in with her so they could quickly go through their notes one more time but she was being driven in by Cheryl rather than riding with her.

Distracted and trying to remember all of the atomic masses of the elements on the periodic table she bumped into someone walking from the front of the room.

“Oh my gosh I’m so sorry,” she squeaked without looking up. Her cheeks were growing warm as they always did when her undeniable clumsiness came out to play.

“It’s no problem, B,” a familiar voice said. She snapped her head up and met eyes with Archie. “I was just dropping off a hot chocolate on your table before the exam started,” he said with a sickly sweet smile. However, like the other day, his eyes turned hard when he noticed the milkshake in her hand.

She kept opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water when a large voice from a tiny girl with pink hair sounded behind them.

“Go get your shitty drink off of her table and take it back to yours,” Toni said. “We don’t need that shit around here.”

Archie glared at her over Betty’s shoulder and Betty could feel Toni glaring right back. They stayed in a stalemate for at least twenty-seconds before Archie turned around, grabbed the coffee off of her lab table, and pushed past them both, knocking his shoulder into theirs as he passed.

Toni continued to stare daggers at her back until he made a big show of throwing the coffee out and heading to his own table. 

The teacher walked in and Betty turned to finally face Toni. They both had wide eyes and their mouths were slightly agape as they walked to Betty’s spot at the front. Toni hoisted herself up onto the table and Betty could feel her staring at her again as she tried to unpack her things normally.

_Pens, both black and blue, white chem notebook to double-check before the exam,_ she though and went through the mental checklist of all of the things she would need.

“Um,” Toni said impatiently, “are we going to talk about that?”

Upset at the situation that just occurred and her friend’s complete lack of faith in her, Betty looked at Toni and asked, “oh what? Now you believe me?”

Then she sat down and started going through the condensed notes she had copied the night before. Toni kept trying to get her attention and start a conversation but Betty ignored her completely.

After waiting a few minutes and Betty sticking her ground, Toni huffed a big breath of air, kissed Betty on the cheek and wished her good luck on the exam. 

Considering she was a sucker for Toni and all of the unconditional love and light the girl radiated, Betty caved and squeezed her hand tight.

“I love you, Tone. Good luck.” 

“Love you too you asshole,” Toni teased and squeezed her hand back. Then they let go and Toni headed back to her table and within seconds of sitting down, Betty saw that she had whipped out her phone and within seconds of that, Betty received a text from Jughead.

**Beanie Boy– 8:57am:** Come outside.

Betty groaned and turned around. Toni sent her an apologetic look and Betty flipped her off, swiveling to face the front and look at her phone. 

**Betty Cooper– 8:57am:** Can’t. The test starts in three minutes.

Almost immediately, as if he knew what she was going to say, Jughead replied.

**Beanie Boy– 8:58am** Seven. If you trust me enough to get you back in before 9:05

Betty rolled the thought around in her head and weighed the pros and cons. Realizing that the cons absolutely outweighed the pros, Betty decided to turn her phone off and turn to Toni once again.

“My phone is turned off for the test,” she yelled across the room and giggled at the wide-eyed look that Toni gave her in return. 

As nine o’clock rolled around their teacher handed out their tests and then stood at the back of the room next to the door. Betty knew that at exactly nine-oh-five he was going to lock the door so no one could get in and no one could get out.

A cute little Riverdale policy that dictated students couldn’t go to the bathroom during tests so they wouldn’t cheat on the exams. 

At nine-o-five the door locked and her teacher gave the cue to turn over their tests and begin. 

As soon as Betty inked her name in her perfect and practiced print across the top of the page a steady calm came across her. The world around her melted and she was no longer worried about Archie and his motives, Jughead and his anxiety, Alice and her stupid cake or how she was going to manage her college coursework with enjoying life in New York. 

Instead, the periodic table danced across her brain and she answered each question with confidence, knowing she aced the multiple-choice and the written portion of the exam.

At nine-fifty-five the test ended and they were asked to leave them facedown on his desk on their way out. Betty stayed in her seat and packed up slowly, waiting for Toni to arrive at her table. 

When she got there they walked up together and then exited through the door at the front of the room. Almost immediately, Toni started complaining.

“I totally bombed the second half,” she moaned and threw her head onto Betty’s shoulder. She laughed and shook her off.

“You did fine,” Betty reassured. “Maybe not as good as me…” she trailed off.

“Oh shut up, Cooper,” Toni laughed. “Wanna go hide in the bathroom until ten-o-five and avoid your out-for-blood boyfriend?”

Betty nodded and giggled as they stuck their heads around the corner of the hall in hopes of avoiding Jughead. 

They had to cover each other’s mouths when they saw him frantically looking around the hallway trying to find Betty. After almost suffocating from trying to hide they made it to the girls bathroom and locked the door behind them.

Betty threw her bag down and ran into one of the stalls to pee. She was in such a rush to get to the bathroom that she forgot to lock the stall door behind her and made dead eye contact with Toni as she peed.

“Oh we’re stuck together forever, Bethany. I haven’t even seen Cheryl pee.”

Not even a little embarrassed Betty replied, “well now I have to watch you pee!”

And that’s how Betty and Toni became _best friends._

“I do hate you for texting Jughead though,” Betty said. She pulled another Twizler out of the pack that Toni was holding and rested her head on her shoulder.

“Yeah… sorry about that,” she said slowly. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Honestly,” Betty said, “it’s probably for the best. At least now he’ll believe me. I just don’t want him to start following me from class to class again like at the beginning of the year.”

Toni hummed and said, “I mean you only have two more finals, and Sweets and Joaquin are in both of them, so I think you’re fine.”

Betty grinned and sighed in relief. If Jughead was going to be cool with anyone to “watch her,” which she felt incredibly patronized for, it would be Sweet Pea.

“It’s true,” she sighed. “How do you think he and Fangs did on the exam?”

“Well considering the hell you put us through the last three weeks, I’d say we’re all gonna do pretty okay,” Toni joked.

Betty giggled and decided that it was time to turn her phone back on and read the hundreds of texts that he no doubt left on her phone. Jughead was many things, but protective of Betty was the first on the list. Granted at the beginning of their relationship she really needed it. Then towards Christmas and New Year's, it started to get annoying. But around Valentine’s Day, she realized that that was just who he was as a person and she could either get really defensive and offended by his actions or she could just realize that that’s who he was as a person.

“I’ll handle him,” Betty smiled. “It might even be fun,” she said with a wink.

“Gross,” Toni mumbled and stood up, pulling Betty from the floor. They started towards the door when a furious five-pound knock hit the door. 

“Elizabeth,” Jughead called in a sugary voice. “I know you and Tiny are in there.”

Toni turned to Betty and clamped her hand over her mouth. “Wanna fuck with him even more?” Toni whispered. Betty nodded and went into a stall. She stood on the closed seat and squatted down so her head wasn’t visible. 

She heard the water running for a second and then turn off as Toni went to the door and unlocked it.

“She’s not in here,” she said in a sniffly voice and Betty had to bite down on her hand to not make a noise.

“Tone,” Jughead said in a concerned voice. “What the hell is going on?”

“Bethany was in here for a little but then she said she was gonna go to Pop’s to get me a shake and probably one for you too,” she said. “Didn’t she text you?”

The silence told Betty that Jughead was shaking his head. “She turned her phone off as soon as I overreacted about Archie. Which, mind you, I wouldn’t have done had you not texted me.”

“Well, I didn't want to get myself into a situation later where you would go all big bad bossman in front of everyone and ask me why I didn’t tell you,” Toni whined.

“I don’t do that,” Jughead grumbled.

Betty had to once again try to not burst into uncontrollable giggles at the situation.

_You’re the king of grumblers._

“Fine!” Jughead yelled and threw his hands in the air. “Fine. I grumble and get mad and love Betty way too much and worry way too much and I can’t help it so can we just _please_ get out of this godforsaken bathroom and head over to my car because I would like to find my girlfriend.”

A small twinge of guild started to snake its way up Betty’s spine. She unlocked the stall door and opened it to Jughead, mouth agape, and Toni, hands clenched over her own trying so hard not to erupt into giggles. 

“Okay, fine,” Toni huffed. “She was in here the whole damn time. But at least she knows how crazy you are?” she said in a questioning tone.

Betty walked over to Jughead and looked at him with wide and innocent eyes. She knew that messing with Jughead like this was going to make him go crazy in the long term. 

But in the short term?

It was just too much damn fun.

* * *

He had never truly contemplated killing Betty before. 

And sure, these weren’t thoughts with the thought of committing a _true_ crime, however, they were pretty damn close.

He was angry with them for tricking him, angry with Toni for actually deceiving him, and making it seem like she had absolutely no idea where Betty was and making him think the worst, angry with Betty for being so mischievous and probably just giggling at his expense behind a stall door. But on top of that, he was mostly angry at himself for not believing Betty in the first place. For brushing her off about Andrews. 

It was an uncomfortable feeling of guilt that was slowly pressing in on all sides. Logically he knew that there was nothing short of punching Archie again that would have accomplished anything that had happened earlier in the day. However, he could have paid more attention to her stress regarding Andrews and maybe walked her into class.

Except he was trying to be less of a helicopter boyfriend/gang leader with abandonment issues these days. 

They were on their way to live in a big city where so many things could be happening at any given moment that he realized it was absolutely foolish to ask Betty to tell him her every move and to tell her the same. 

He could save the helicoptering for their kids.

When they heard about Reggie and Fangs, Betty asked Jughead if they could “come up with a plan” for if they broke up. Obviously it wasn’t something that Jughead could handle talking about as the thought of not being with Betty broke his body down to the core. 

Betty was the one. And there was no other, ever. He knew that Fangs and Reggie breaking up was weird for all of them but he was sticking to his mentality of “it’s not our relationship so we’re not getting involved.”

He pulled into Cheryl’s driveway after the quietest car ride to ever be imagined took place around him. He put the car in park but didn’t turn it off.

“Toni, go inside,” he said sternly. Toni giggled and pulled herself through the seats to kiss their cheeks. 

“Are you going to pick up dinner?” she asked.

“Sure, we can do that,” Jughead said and tried to keep his composure. “Just text me what everyone wants and from where and we’ll bring it back.”

Toni nodded and hopped out of the car. She waved to them again and then half jogged-half skipped up the drive to the house. Jughead watched as she opened the door and could practically hear her yelling out to whoever would listen.

When the door finally slammed shut behind her, Jughead put the car in drive and circled back through the driveway and onto the main road. He hadn’t said anything to Betty yet but grabbed her hand and kissed her knuckles. 

He looked over at her and smiled. “How was your day, my Betty?” he asked sincerely. “And don’t even try to get mad at yourself about what happened. I was mad and now forgive you as I can see how my helicoptering could be uh…” he cleared his throat, “aggressive.”

She looked at him with an odd expression before bringing their hands back over to her lap and lifting them to her lips. 

“My day was really okay,” she said and ran her thumb across his knuckles. “I felt really good about the test and me and Toni watched each other pee so now we’re best friends,” Betty giggled. Jughead turned to smile at her and rolled his eyes.

“She watched you pee, Betty Cooper?”

“I really had to go!” Betty squeaked and Jughead burst out laughing. 

“She’s seen you pee before I have!” he mock yelled.

“And you’ll never see me pee!” she half-screamed back. “Lily and Marshall rules only!” 

“Have to wait ten years?” he asked in a knowing tone.

“ _At least,_ ” she stressed and smiled. They stayed quiet for a few moments before she asked, “where are we going?”

Jughead didn’t say anything for a bit, instead letting her sweat _just a little bit._ He continued to gently kiss her wrist and knuckles and at each one of her squirms in the seat next to him, he felt his dick harden. 

It was almost too painful by the time they reached their destination.

“The trailer?” Betty asked and turned to him. He nodded and unbuckled his seatbelt before climbing over the center console and kissing up and down her exposed neck. She was wearing a very baggy sweater and from what Jughead could tell, no bra, and the shortest shorts he had ever seen.

The margarita shorts to be exact.

“Mmmh, Jug,” she said breathily as his hands snaked up her stomach and played with the soft skin just below her breast.

“That’s my name,” he said wetly against her collarbone. He licked from hollow of her throat across the underside of her collarbone and kissed up her shoulder until he reached her neck.

“Here’s the thing, Betty Cooper,” he said and punctuated each word with a kiss. “You did a very sneaky and mischievous thing today,” he said as his voice got lower. “And I am going to punish you for that.”

She inhaled sharply as he bit the soft spot behind her ear and moved his head so it was directly in front of hers. She leaned forward to kiss him but before she could reach him he moved backward so he was pressed against the driver’s side door and had one hand gently wrapped around her throat.

“I didn’t say you could kiss me, Betty Cooper,” he said slowly. “You can kiss me when you’ve earned a kiss.” He brought her face as close to his as he could and whispered, “you’ll know when you’ve earned it.” 

At that moment his phone became flooded with texts of what they wanted for dinner and Jughead handed it to Betty.

“Read it to me?” he asked in a sweet tone and drove forward so he could loop around the back of the trailer and head into town. “But you have to touch yourself while you do,” he added and smiled at the look of shock on her face. “It will earn you a kiss.”

Betty nodded and slowly opened her legs so one was brushing against the gearshift and the other was pushed against her door. She slipped her right hand into the waistband of her shorts and started to read from the order. 

When her voice became comfortable and normal in her reading, Jughead would give her an order like, “make small, tight circles on your clit,” or “push your fingers in deeper, Betty Cooper,” until he had finished placing the order. He was on the phone with the Mexican place as this was happening and would mute the call when he needed to give her a direction.

He loved it.

They drove to the place and Jughead made her play with herself the entire time. She was allowed to cum if she wanted to but was encouraged to wait it out. And like the good little girl she was, she was able to wait until they got home.

Jughead texted Sweet Pea as they were pulling up that they needed help with the bags and saw that he was standing where Jughead usually parked his car, ready to help. 

Jughead handed Betty one of the napkins from the back and helped her clean herself up before Sweet Pea opened her door. 

“Am I allowed to have a kiss now?” she asked in a thick voice.

Jughead thought about it and made a decision. He leaned in and just before their lips touched her turned his head and bit the shell of her ear.

“No.”

Betty whiled and unbuckled her seatbelt. She threw her door open and stomped in the direction of the house, shoving past Sweet Pea and slamming the front door behind her.

“What’s got Betty’s panties in a twist?” Sweet Pea asked and Jughead snorted.

“I won’t kiss her,” Jughead said simply.

“Is this a sex thing? Because if so I don’t want to be involved” Sweet Pea said.

“Then you’re no longer involved,” Jughead said quickly and slammed the back door shut with his foot. “What’s going on in there?”

“We’re party planning,” Sweet Pea said with a scowl. “Remember the shit we had to do for the Halloween party? Well, make that even more because now this is the last party Cher is gonna throw while in high school and every fifteen minutes she starts to break out into uncontrollable sobs and no one really knows why.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jughead said mumbled and tugged at the end of his hair. “Oh,” he said and pretended he forgot to mention it earlier, “Archie approached Betty today and tried to force her to drink a hot chocolate or something that he bought her. I wasn’t there but Toni was. So you also owe Betty an apology for brushing her off because Andrews is about to try some shit and I am so not fucking here for it,” Jughead sighed. 

“I cannot wait to be fucking rid of this kid, man. Why can’t he take a fucking hint? It’s been _months_ since they last talked. Since Cheryl’s last party!” Sweet Pea said after a minute. They had reached the front of the house and Jughead held the door open for Sweet pea and they both walked in.

“Rations!” Jughead yelled, stepping through the front door. Cheryl was the first to reach them and grabbed the first bag out of Jughead’s hands. She gave him a quick one-armed hug and then skipped back to the kitchen. As Jughead followed her he looked to his right and saw Veronica, Reggie, and Joaquin setting the table while Fangs and Kevin were pulling together the ingredients for margaritas. 

Betty was nowhere to be found. 

Jughead smirked and envisioned his perfect and pouty little princess upstairs debating on whether or not she should finish off herself or wait until he was ready to fuck her harder than she had ever been fucked before. 

He put a pin in that thought and went into the kitchen to help pull out the food and hand things to Veronica, Reggie, and Joaquin to put at people’s designated seats. Halfway through the last bag, Jughead felt Betty’s presence enter the room and chose not to look up. He waited until she was pressed against his side to acknowledge her.

He tilted his head down so he could get a good look at his face and was pleased to see that she still looked overly frustrated and was shifting her weight between her feet at a rapid speed.

“You’ve been such a good girl,” he mumbled against her cheek. “You’re going to like what you get for being a good girl.” She moaned and nodded. 

He snapped his head up to make sure no one else was in the kitchen before pushing his hand slowly up her body until it met her throat. She gasped as he wrapped his long fingers around her throat and tipped her head back. Then he leaned down and pressed the most gentle kiss on her open lips and released her.

“They’re waiting for us, it’s time to party plan!” he said with enthusiasm even though his dick was so hard it hurt to walk.

They sat down at the table and Jughead immediately grabbed one of Cheryl’s nachos. She tried to slap his hand away but he was too quick. He placed the gooey chip into his mouth and hissed at the temperature. 

“How was everyone’s day?” Reggie asked in a sing-song way. His arm was resting on the back of Fangs’s chair but drumming an inaudible beat on Toni’s shoulder. 

“Well I got assaulted by Archie today and Jughead is punish–”

“I am _not_ punishing her for anything. And even if I was,” Jughead said in a sharp tone and shot her a look, “they wouldn’t need to know it.”

The table was quiet and Toni, who must have felt guilty to have been part of the prank but not receive any of the backlash jumped in and said, “okay disregarding whatever sex thing they’re talking about… Archie really did start to like, approach Betty today. It was _creepy_.”

“Any insight into this, Reginald?” Sweet Pea asked in an accusatory way.

“Why would he know anything?” Fangs asked.

“He _is_ on the football team with Archie,” Sweet Pea said. “Maybe he knows something.”

“Sweet Pea, honey,” Reggie started, “first, football is a sport that happens in the fall, c’mon, you know that. Aren’t you supposed to be the straight one here? And second, Archie hasn’t said shit to me since that Monday that I first had lunch with you guys?”

“Hmm,” Sweet Pea said as Veronica whispered, “honey?” to Jughead and he shrugged it off, too amused by what was playing out before him.

“How do you remember it was _that_ Monday that Archie stopped talking to you, huh? How do you know it was a Monday at all?”

Reggie being the saint jokester that he was got up and walked over to Sweet Pea’s seat at the other side of the table. He pulled his chair out and plopped himself right on top of Sweet Pea’s lap. 

“Why is this happening?” Joaquin asked in a strained voice. 

The whole table was quiet as Reggie looked Sweet Pea directly in the eye and said, “I’d go to war against Archie Andrews with you. He’s been overly homophobic and sexist and abusive to one of my best friends and now seems to be trying to be just as abusive again, so no,” Reggie said, “I have _not_ talked to Andrews since the Monday I had lunch with you. And I know it was Monday because the next day was Tuesday and everyone was in fancy clothing until alcohol was dumped onto Jughead’s head and then we all got into bed together.”

Sweet Pea stared at him for a few moments before nodding, grabbing his burrito, and beginning to eat again. Reggie reached across the table to grab his own plate of food and held his plate in one hand and used his fork with the other. 

“Is no one going to fucking talk about what just happened?!” Cheryl yelled. “Reggie! Why are you still on his lap?”

“Betty gets to sit on him every fucking day! I don’t see why I can’t.”

“Well first of all you’re at least a hundred pounds heavier than Betty,” Sweet Pea said through a bite of a burrito. 

“And second, Betty’s been sitting on Sweet Pea for months. No one questions it anymore and when they do, one of the two of them just gets mad at Jughead.”

“She’s _my_ girlfriend! I don’t understand why everyone gets their fucking knickers in a twist every time I ask her to sit in _my_ lap.”

“I’ll sit in your lap!” Veronica chimed in. “We can lap trade. You look much softer than the benches at school.”

“I’m uncomfy,” Fangs whispered. “Reggie, come back over here. We need to talk about Archie and no one is going to be able to focus while you and the mammoth are eating burritos on top of each other.”

“Oh Fangsey,” Reggie said with nothing else after. He got off of Sweet Pea and sent him a sad look and wave before walking back around to his seat and kissing the top of Fangs’s head and sitting down.

Jughead said he was going to do everything in his power to not get involved in their relationship, but he really didn’t see how the two of them were going to be able to handle breaking up but “still being friends,” when they graduated. 

Jughead found himself wishing that they had come to them asking if Reggie could move in. 

“Am I the only one who is going to _calmly_ bring back up the topic of Archie before we hand the mic over to Cheryl who is turning redder than her hair in anticipation of getting to talk about her plans?” Joaquin asked

“I mean since you stressed the word _calmly_ like that I would assume that yes, you’re the only one who can bring it up without bursting an aneurysm,” Jughead said.

He flipped Jughead off and then asked Betty, “did you notice him being weird before today?” 

Betty nodded and shot angry looks to Fangs, Toni, Sweet Pea, and Jughead. “I even told these four idiots yesterday and they brushed it off! Even Sweet Pea and Jug!” Jughead grabbed her thigh under the table and made circles on her knee. 

“Okay,” Joaquin said and sent small looks to everyone at the table. “Can you tell me what he did?”

Betty launched into the story about how she felt weird about the way he was looking at her and the way he had been looking at her a lot recently, like since they came back from Mexico. She explained that how in the before he would bring her a hot chocolate to every test for good luck and did the same today. She explained how he got mad that she already had the shake that Jughead gave her and how that set him off in a weird way. Then Toni stepped in and got him to move and texted Jughead everything that had happened.

Everyone took a minute to digest the information that she had just given them before Kevin, one half of the more logical couple, said: 

“Well okay then. Here’s what we’re going to do. We are going to do _nothing._ All Archie has ever wanted out of us was a reaction and there is absolutely something going on in his twisted brain. Ignoring him completely is the only thing that will work.”

“And what if he tries to fuck with Betty?” Fangs leaned forward and asked. Jughead who was thinking the same thing nodded and continued to rub circles on Betty’s leg.

“Well, that’s his whole point, his whole game. He’s going to try and fuck with Betty. But now that school is basically done, the only place he can mess with her will be at Cheryl’s party, which just, won’t happen. So if we see him at Pop’s or in town or anywhere else, we’re just going to ignore him. That’s what we’ve been doing for months and it’s been wildly effective.”

“Wildly? He is now back and offering drugged up coffee to Betty!” Jughead freaked. 

“Jughead it wasn’t drugged. Even I could tell you that,” Sweet Pea said. ”And if you wanna know what I think, I agree with Kevin. We have way more important things to worry about other than Archie. Like Cheryl’s party.”

Jughead watched it unfold in slow-motion. Sweet Pea opened the floor for Cheryl to talk and she leaped. Literally. She stood up and leaped onto the table with excitement. 

“I have made a decision!” she yelled.

“Oh god that Jughead doesn’t believe in,” Kevin grumbled under his breath. “What’s that dear?” he asked with a smile.

“We aren’t going to throw the party the weekend before graduation because the hockey team is throwing a party then and I don’t have the time or energy to go against the hockey team right now I need to pack. Anyway, we are going to have our party the night _of_ graduation. We’ll have a huge bonfire where people can throw their old papers and books and failing grades and watch it burn. We’ll still dress up in the 20s theme but it will make more sense at that point because we’re going into our twenties!”

Jughead looked around and smiled. It sounded pretty fun, actually. And knowing Cheryl the party was going to be big and decadent and incredible. 

“I’m in,” he said after a moment and smiled at her. “It’s one of your better ideas, Red. Just tell me where to sign and we’re in,” he said and threw his arm around the back of Betty’s chair. 

“Daddy’s paying, obviously,” Cheryl said with a flip of her hair.

“Daddy’s dead, babe,” Joaquin said. 

“He’s still paying,” Betty and Cheryl said at the same time. 

“So we are no longer having a 20s themed party the weekend before graduation, we are having a back to the 20s and welcome to your twenties themed party the night _of_ graduation,” Veronica clarified. 

“Ooh I like that name for it, V,” Betty said. “And this sounds much better, Cher. Much less stressful if we have the next week and a half to pack things up before graduation and then leaving right after.”

Jughead turned his head and kissed Betty’s temple. He tugged slightly on the bottom of her neck as a way of letting her know they were about to get up.

“As much as this conversation about Archie and what we plan to do, or rather, not do, about him was helpful, we’re gonna go upstairs so I can cry at an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and decompress,” Betty said and stood up. Jughead grabbed both of their plates and stood up with her. 

“Does anyone wanna go to the trailer with me tomorrow?” Jughead asked as he slowly followed Betty out of the room.

“I do,” Reggie said and fist-bumped Jughead as he walked by. 

Jughead sent a nod in everyone’s direction and then leaned down to kiss Cheryl on the cheek. “Your idea is perfect, Red. You really did the damn thing.” Cheryl squeezed his arm before Jughead walked away. 

He put their plates down on the counter and then rinsed them off before putting them in the dishwasher. He dried his hands and packed up the rest of the kitchen, putting away the food that he knew no one was going to eat until tomorrow and throwing away all of the bags. 

He trudged up the stairs and yelled one last, “night guys,” in the direction of the living room and headed towards his and Betty’s room. He had a small moment of panic about needing to go back downstairs and take Hot Dog out for a walk but remembered that it was Veronica’s night to take him and continued to where he knew his plush bed and perfect girlfriend were waiting for him.

Except, there was no girlfriend curled up naked in bed. Instead, there was an open bathroom door with steam billowing out of it, and a piece of paper propped up on Jughead’s pillow. 

_I was so good. xo BC._

“Yes, you fucking were,” Jughead growled into the dark room and tore off his clothes. He walked into the bathroom and shut the door slowly to the sounds of Betty’s tinkling laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What'd you think??
> 
> Now that I've settled into my new place I am able to focus more on what I love...
> 
> You guys & these stories.
> 
> Anyway, see you in like an hour or so for the compound. 
> 
> Come tumble with me!!! @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> Bb


	25. Sipping On Sins (Freaky As She Wanna Be)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “This is a funeral to the people who we were before we met each other. The people who were kicked down and abused. The people whose family died or left them or both. Those people served their purpose and lived their lives. But it’s time we let them go and move on so we can become the people we were meant to be,” Joaquin said. 
> 
> Jughead felt Betty squeeze his hand and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He met eyes with the rest of his family and they nodded.
> 
> “Here lie the people who got us to where we are today. To the people who held it together until we could learn to be ourselves. To the people who helped us find each other,” Jughead yelled so loud that it burned the back of his throat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I'm gonna say is hey babies, I love you!
> 
> I'm sorry and enjoy!

_Kolors– Smino (feat. Monte Booker)_

She loved and hated that she could tell he was naked by the way he entered the bathroom. 

She didn’t even have to open her eyes or ask him a question, she could just continue to lather herself up with the sweet-smelling strawberry body wash that Cheryl had sneakily placed in her bathroom and wait for him to step into the bathroom and take her exactly as she wanted to be.

She had been a good girl after all.

And that was all that he asked for. 

She closed her eyes and let the hot water run down her face and hair and didn’t even flinch when a pair on strong hands made their way up her body, starting at the tops of her thighs and picking her nipples roughly before landing on her shoulders. 

He pressed himself against her and she tried not to moan, hoping her willing and eager compliance to his advancements would make her reward for being so good even better. 

Jughead reached around her and grabbed the body wash from her hands and Betty kept her eyes closed as she heard him squeeze some out into the palm of his hands. She could hear the suds gathering between his long fingers and finally allowed herself to moan quietly when his thumbs dug sensually into the pressure points on her shoulders. 

He massaged deep and perfect circles across the bottom of her neck and she tilted her head back and rested it on his chest as he continued to grow harder against her spine and massage deeper into her skin.

“You really were so good today, Betty,” he said as he licked her ear, hands never ceasing. She nodded, mind numb from the hours of arousal and the motions of his hands. He kissed behind her ear and then licked up the shell before moving back down to gently bite the lobe. 

“What do you want your reward to be, baby girl?” he asked.

Betty’s mind and body were both buzzing with potential possibilities and she took her time thinking before explicitly saying what she wanted. He gave her all the time she needed, moving his hands up and down her back until she was ready to talk.

“I want you to continue to kiss me wherever you want until you’re ready to fuck me senseless,” she said. Then she turned around and threw her hands around his neck. Carefully standing on her toes she tugged at the ends of his hair and drew his face down to hers. 

And then she kissed him deeply.

Finally.

She started slowly, only chastely pressing her lips against his before diving her tongue between his lips and relishing in the fact that he was letting her take control. She knew it was only going to last so long before he flipped the switch and had her on her back, legs in the air and screaming with wild abandon.

However for now she was going to enjoy holding his hands behind his back and sinking deeper onto her knees so she could take all of him into her mouth. 

He was hot and hard and heavy against her tongue and Betty felt her desire pooling between her thighs even as the water rushed around them.

She took him out of her mouth and looked him dead in the eye as she licked from the base to his tip and slowly sucked the head as if it were the sweetest treat in the world.

Which to Betty, it was.

"Is it my turn yet?" he asked gruffly. Betty ducked her head and continued her ministrations until Jughead gently grabbed her by the chin and lifted her to her feet.

At some indistinguishable point, Jughead had turned off the water and lifted Betty out of the bathtub and threw her over his shoulder as they walked back into their room. He was massaging circles into her ass and the top of her thighs but never where she wanted it most. 

He took a deliciously long time getting them out of the bathroom and when he did he threw her directly onto the bed and without warning attached his mouth to her inner thigh.

"Aah," she moaned softly. _So this is my reward for being good. Being punished._

"Shhh," he whispered and stroked her face with his fingers. "Good things _come_ to girls who wait."

_Did he have to stress that word though?_

He continued sucking on her inner thigh and massaging the other with one of his hands. He took his left hand and gently stroked from her clit to the bottom of her slit. It was so featherlight and so delicate that if all of Betty's nerves weren't out on display she might not have even felt it.

However, this was a whole different type of feeling. 

He did this until she was on the brink of exploding and just as his finger was sloping downward for what she would learn was the last time, he attached his mouth to her clit and started licking and sucking as if it were the last thing we were ever going to get to eat.

She screamed and he clamped his hand over her mouth, forgetting that there were eight other people downstairs still wide awake and in love with the idea of making fun of their friends for fucking.

She would know, she teased Joaquin for his own moans a fair share of times.

But with that one lick, one suck in an area that was more sensitive than she could ever imagine she exploded with an orgasm so intense that she was afraid she had broken Jughead's nose.

He helped her come down from her orgasmic high and then shifted her so she was laying down, back pressed against his chest.

"You're not going to fuck me?" she asked sleepily.

"Do you want me to?" he murmured in her ear. 

Betty nodded her head and giggled as he pulled her body back so he could put himself inside of her without them leaving their comfortable position. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she threw one leg over him, fanning out onto her back and allowing for easier access to her clit.

He started pumping into her and she could feel every muscle in his body move as he stroked in and out. 

"Juggle, juggie, juggie," she whispered against his neck and he roughly wrapped his hand around hers and kissed her slow and deep.

"I'm going to cum," he mumbled a few minutes later and Betty tried to fight off her own orgasm so she could finish with him. She ground her hips into his and at the very last moment he roughly pinched her clip and she came so loud that he had to quickly swallow her screams. 

She tilted her head back so could kiss him again and they both sighed loudly when he pulled himself out. He quickly grabbed one of the discarded towels and handed it to her along with a cup of water. Then he peeled back the covers and tucked them both in, grabbing the remote off of the side table and putting on New Girl.

Betty sat there sleepily looking at the show and holding the cup of water in her hands when Jughead interrupted her.

"Please drink that so you can pee so we can sleep," he pleaded. 

Betty sharply turned her head at him and asked, "what?"

He sighed and said, "if you don't drink that, you won't pee. And if you don't pee, you'll get a UTI. And if you get a UTI, you're in pain and Cheryl will yell at me," he said the last part sheepishly. "But mostly I don't want you to get one because you'll be in pain?" he said, his voice taking an upturn at the end.

Betty tried hard to not smile at the sweetness that was Jughead Jones but failed miserably. Sitting up, she kissed him on the cheek and half-waddled to the bathroom. She sat down and peed and thought about how just earlier that day she and Toni were sitting on the bathroom floor at school on their last day of high school together watching each other pee.

She crawled back into bed and lay her naked body down directly on top of a snoring Jughead's. She shifted slightly so she wouldn't suffocate him throughout the night but kept her arms and legs slung across him.

She closed her eyes and fell asleep to the soft glow of the television behind her eyes and the faint sound of a man singing about puzzles.

Betty hated the color yellow and didn’t know why she was forced to wear it just to walk across the stage with none of her family in the audience. 

Well, they’d be on the stage with her but that was beside the point because the point was, Betty hated the color yellow. She might have even hated it more than the color pink if she hadn’t been kicked out of her mother’s house and somehow become even more suffocated by the color. 

She also didn’t understand why the girls had to wear yellow and the boys got to wear the deep royal blue that made Jughead’s eyes turn the color of the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean.

But once again, that was beside the point. 

Sweet Pea suggested that they all switch robes and the girls wear the blue and the boys wore the yellow but then Joaquin pointed out that there weren’t as many girls and Cheryl’s robe wasn’t going to fit over Sweet Pea’s thigh. 

Reggie tried to convince Betty that it was “gold” and not yellow hence the name of the room that they spent all of their free periods in, but Veronica pulled out a fourteen-carat gold ring, held it up to Betty’s robe, asked him if it was the same color, and Reggie walked away with his tomato of a face buried deep in his hands.

Jughead pulled her aside and told her that regardless of the color that she looked “absolutely radiant,” and Betty had to pretend to pout even though the words did make her feel a little better.

She wasn’t the only one upset by the color of their graduation outfit though.

“I literally look like the poster child for Gryffindor,” Cheryl complained as she stepped into a pair of four-inch heels and stormed through the house. “I mean, my hair is actually maroon these days and this robe is “squeeze mustard” yellow and I am too pale for this bullshit.”

“You wouldn’t be so pale if you had come to the salon with us the other day and gotten a spray tan,” Veronica pointed out from a considerable distance. Where Betty was moody and pouty about the color of her robe, Cheryl was in a “throwing lamps” mood and no one wanted to be in the crossfires of that.

“Well I didn’t want to become orange but oh look, that already fucking happened. Just mix me up and peel me open and you have a tasty snack!” she screamed. They stood around her in awed silence at her oddly sexual and very angry metaphor of being a fucking orange. 

Toni finally stepped in after controlling her face and walked Cheryl out of the living room and into the kitchen where they could decompress before they took their last shots as high schoolers.

“Do we have to do this?” Fangs asked as he sunk into the couch and tipped his head back. “I am still hungover from last night.”

It was true. They were all a bit woozy from the round of performative _True American_ and woke up in Cheryl’s bed, limbs tangled and unsure of what happened after two am.

“It’s been a thing since the first day of school, Fangsey,” Veronica said and went to go sit next to him. “We made an agreement that we were going to take one last high school tequila shot before walking across the stage and throwing these shitty caps in the air,” she said as she waived the graduation cap around in a circle. 

“Yeah okay,” he huffed, “but _I_ wasn’t there for that pact,” he whined.

“Yeah but you live here for free and will be living in one of the most expensive luxury apartments in New York for free so you can take a fucking shot before you walk across the stage and before you get blackout again,” Jughead argued. He walked up to where Betty was standing and grabbed her hand. She looked up at him and he kissed the top of her head. 

“Come with me,” he whispered. She nodded and let him lead her out of the room while she was in a dream state. They walked out the front door and around the house to the back porch. Betty followed him in a sort of haze that didn’t match the excitement on Jughead’s face. They stepped onto the elevated porch surface by the hot tub and Betty sat down.

“What’s up, Betty Cooper?” Jughead asked and kissed the side of her face. She sighed at looked up at him before leaning her head on his shoulder.

“I wish Alice was going to be there. To see that I’m okay and to see that I survived despite it all” she admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I want you to text her,” she warned.

“Understood, baby,” Jughead said quietly. “I have something that might make you feel better.”

Betty lifted her head to look at him. His eyes were shining against the mid-morning sun and Betty stroked his cheek. 

He kissed her gently and pulled a red velvet box out of the pocket of his black slacks. Cheryl insisted that they wore their nice suit pants instead of their nice jeans because of whatever tradition she made up in her mind that no one was trying to fight. 

Betty took the box and opened it slowly and burst into laughter. Inside, nestled in the plush black velvet was a small Oreo charm and a Jeep.

“From when I still didn’t know your name and you fought me in the middle of Pop’s about going to the Southside for ice cream…” she trailed off.

“And a Jeep, well,” he said, “my Jeep. Where I told you my name and you didn’t run.” He pulled her into him by cupping her cheeks and kissed her sweetly. “That was the beginning of our time in high school. This is the end. It seemed fitting to commemorate it.”

Betty smiled and held out her wrist to him so he could add the two charms next to the tiny diamond that was a “place holder” for what was to come. 

“You, Jughead Jones,” she whispered, “are a fucking simp.”

“Well then welcome to simp nation, baby girl,” he said mockingly. “But of course I am,” he then said with all sincerity. “I have no real reason to not be. I have the best girl in the world by my side and a family of fucking weirdos standing behind me.”

“Pretty sure we stand in front of you, buddy,” Sweet Pea called as he walked over. 

He was trailed by everyone else and Betty took an already up Jughead’s hand to stand herself. They met in the middle and Betty walked right into Sweet Pea’s outstretched arms and mumbled, “is it time?”

She felt him grimace and nod, “for the absolute worst. Yes.”

At that moment Betty heard Cheryl cry, “it’s time for pictures guys!” 

“Cherry,” Joaquin warned. “You have twenty minutes before we are wheels up, so you need to make it count.” 

“Quin,” she said in a somber yet stern voice. “Literally _none of us_ have parents that care, alive or not. We are ten teenagers who live in an abandoned and haunted mansion who are moving to New York in a week to do god, that Jughead doesn’t believe in, knows what. I am going to take all of the photos I want today because there isn’t anyone to take them for us.” 

They exchanged silent looks and came to an agreement that she was right. There wasn’t anyone there to take the photos for them. All they had were each other.

“And besides,” she continued in the same tone, “I want to be able to tell all of your kids that the reason Auntie Cheryl looks like Ronald McDonald was because mommy/auntie Veronica was a snake.”

“Technically,” Betty interjected, “aren’t we all snakes?”

“Yeah but I’m a snake who looks like a fast-food mascot,” Cheryl deadpanned and went to go put her phone on the tripod she had set up.

They spent the next half an hour taking photos, deciding that it would be okay if they were late to graduation if it meant capturing the memories of their last moments in high school on camera forever. 

Betty managed to snag photos with everyone individually and was even subjected to a cruel photographed version of “Betty Bunt” and a sweet picture of Sweet Pea and Jughead kisser her cheeks. She blushed in the photo with Toni who had sunk up behind her and grabbed her ass just as the camera went off and she keeled over laughing at Veronica’s comment on how drunk she was going to get tonight. 

Right before they left she pulled out her own phone and caught Jughead in a candid laughing moment. She smiled at the photo and then he pulled her in close and took a selfie, Betty staring at the camera and Jughead staring at her.

They would later find out that Cheryl had captured that moment on camera too. 

They squeezed into two cars, Cheryl complaining that she had to sit in the back while Betty sat in the front.

“Do you want to switch?” she asked sincerely. 

“No, Elizabeth,” she snapped playfully, “I wanted to have been offered before you were.”

“You wanted to be offered the front seat of _my_ car when Betty was here, Red?” Jughead asked. “I mean I love you a lot, but I don’t love you that much.” 

Betty laughed and handed the AUX cord to Cheryl who stopped pouting immediately and turned on a throwbacks playlist on Spotify. Joaquin honked at them twice from the other car and Jughead pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Riverdale High for the very last time.

It was absolutely bonkers when they arrived. Cheryl started tapping her legs subconsciously and Jughead leaned one arm back and grabbed her hand. Betty smiled at the gesture and looked out the window, not wanting to admit it to anyone, but searching for Alice’s car.

Jughead pulled into a spot right next to Joaquin and the ten of them unpacked themselves. Sweet Pea stretched and threw his arm around Betty and the two of them led their group through the throngs of people gathered outside of the gymnasium. Sweet Pea weaved around each person until he got to the woman from the front office who was taking attendance of all of the people who had arrived. 

“I’m checking in some people,” Sweet Pea said. She looked up and saw that he had Betty in a protective grip and pulled out her pen.

“Names?”

“Sweet Pea, last name omitted. Elizabeth Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Cheryl Blossom, Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third, Kevin Keller, Joaquin DeSantos, Antoniette Topaz, Reginald Mantle, and Fangs Fogarty,” Sweet Pea said. Betty giggled at the ‘last name omitted’ of Sweet Pea’s name and the woman sighed as she flipped through the pages attached to her clipboard.

“Do you have family who needs seating reserved?” she asked as she continued to look.

They exchanged a look before Betty said, “no,” and left it at that. The woman looked up at them and saw that the rest of the names that Sweet Pea had just listed had arrived behind them, creating a small perimeter around the pair. 

“We’re fine as we are, ma’am,” Joaquin called and stepped forward. He grabbed the four yellow and six blue graduation caps from her and pulled them off to the side. 

Betty felt a familiar hand snake through hers and she looked at Veronica on her right. She felt the presence of her very fiery cousin sneak up on her left and Betty put her hand in Cheryl’s. The stepped off to the side and wrapped their arms around each other.

“Did we really make it through senior year in one piece?” Veronica asked quietly? “I mean, Cheryl’s brother died, Betty, your father and brother died, my dad is in jail and my mom is in rehab, Betty got disowned and no one knows where Mrs. Blossom is…” Veronica trailed off. “And we managed to actually graduate?”

“In one piece,” Cheryl added.

“Without pushing my nails into my palms since October,” Betty pointed out. They smiled at each other and pulled each other in close.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Serpents be damned. If I’m not walking across the stage with you two, it was a waste of four years.

Another pact made at the beginning of the year. When Cheryl’s name was called, the two other girls would move quickly to catch up with her and Cheryl got her diploma and wait to grab their own until the end. Cheryl, opposed to the idea that they would have to wait, was quickly shot down at the idea that she would get to walk across the stage with her sisters since she couldn’t walk with her brother.

“As soon as they call her name, Cherry will give the signal,” Betty squealed and shifted from foot to foot. 

“That’s my move,” Fangs called and walked over to them. “Boss Man wants a picture with Red before we go on stage. He looked through his phone and realized that she was the only person he didn’t grab a photo with.”

They smiled and Betty squeezed Veronica’s hand before the two of them walked over to Sweet Pea. He was looking at something on his phone but Betty could tell that he sensed them walking over because as soon as Veronica was within a foot of him he scooped her up and lifted her off the ground, face buried in her neck. 

She smiled and ran to Jughead right as a voice over the loudspeaker told them that it was time to line up.

“See you on the other side,” Jughead said. Betty grabbed his hand and lifted his knuckles to her lips.

“Until then, Jughead Jones.”

Betty was behind Trev Brown and in front of a girl she knew from her English class. She locked eyes with each of the people in her family. Sweet Pea winked at her and Toni blew her a kiss and then the line started moving and Betty was ushered into a chair on a stage where she would sit down and listen to a multitude of speakers before it was time for them to stand and get their diplomas. 

Cheryl’s name was called right after Archie’s and almost immediately Betty felt Veronica slip her arm through her own and they met Cheryl at the podium. Principal Weatherbee sighed in clear annoyance but pulled Betty and Veronica’s diploma’s out of the stack as well. 

As if pulled by a magnetic force, they moved their tassels to the other side of their caps and walked back to their seats. When each member of their group was called they stood and cheered louder than anyone, filling up the space that many members of many families should have been.

Betty didn’t even remember hearing, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I now present to you the class of 2017,” before she had thrown her cap into the air and was picked up and spun by an overzealous Sweet Pea.

“I graduated, Cooper!” he screamed into her ear. 

She watched as he tried to hide the tears brimming in his eyes but she didn’t care and wiped them away anyway. 

She was briefly put down before Reggie, Joaquin and Kevin came to her and squeezed her in the tightest hug imaginable. 

She ducked out of their embrace and scooped up Toni herself, spinning the tiny girl around in a circle. 

When Kevin pulled Toni away from her she turned to find Fangs standing next to Reggie and jumped on his back, peppering his face in kisses. He laughed hard and pulled her into a tight hug and placed a sloppy kiss to her cheek. 

She was finally pulled away by Cheryl and Veronica who laughed and screamed a chorus of, “thank fucking god that Jughead doesn’t believe in, we made it!”

They separated and Betty spun around frantically, looking for the one person she wanted to see most. 

There, standing next to Archie, the two of them not speaking or even acknowledging the presence of each other was Forsythe Pendleton Jones the Third, the love of her life, partner in crime and best friend. 

He met her eyes and she ran to him, launching herself at him and kissing him hard on the mouth, not caring who saw or who cared or who would talk about it later. Because they had done it, from spilled milkshakes to assemblies with Southside announcements to secret names to sexual silence to deciding to move to New York with their dysfunctional family. 

“Hey there, Betty Cooper,” he said as he put her down.

“Hey back, Beanie Boy,” she said quietly. “We did it.”

He nodded and pressed a kiss against her forehead. “We sure did, baby girl. We sure did.”

* * *

He loved Cheryl Blossom with his entire heart and would, without a singular doubt in his mind, take a bullet for her.

However, he would also, without a doubt, be one of the people who called the hit on her, because this “party” she was having was absolutely ridiculous. 

“Red!” he screamed over the blaring music. “What the fuck is even happening? This is _not_ what we talked about earlier.”

Cheryl shrugged and handed him a drink. “Try not to get into any fights tonight, Juggie. And have fun. It’s the last time you’ll ever be at a party with this group of people,” she said before skipping away. Jughead grimaced and saw Betty talking with Valerie Brown in the corner. 

Her hair was curled and brushed out and she was still glowing from the spray tan she got with Veronica.

She was also wearing a black mini dress that would provide a perfect show as she bent over in front of him as he slid her panties down her thighs slowly. 

He chugged the rest of his drink.

Earlier that day, right as they got home from graduation, bags of Thai food in hand, they were stopped short by a huge basket of flowers sitting on the front porch.

“What the fuck?” Veronica asked for all of them. She walked over and plucked the card out of the bouquet on the steps and furrowed her brow. Betty dislodged herself from his side and walked over to the steps. She read the card and then picked up the basket.

“To Betty,” she read. “you looked beautiful at graduation, and your friends did too. - Alice.”

Jughead had crossed the distance between them in seconds and pulled her away. She brought the card and flowers with them and he led them back to where they were sitting before they left for graduation.

“I promise that I didn’t reach out to her,” he said urgently. 

She took a moment to respond, fingering the card before looking up and saying, “I know, babe.” She looked back down. “It makes me kind of happy that she was there. That she saw the obvious display of love that we share. That I am truly happy.”

Jughead kissed her and gathered her into his lap. She continued to play with the card and he said, “here’s what I think we should do. I think each of us should choose one flower that we like the most out of this bunch and dry them. We can even put them in a frame. After that, we can toss the rest of them in the crazy-ass bonfire that Cheryl is no doubt dictating we put together now.” 

“I really like that idea,” she said and pulled herself off of his lap. “Now c’mon. I want to eat before I get obliterated.”

“Obliterated, Betty Cooper?” he asked with a sly grin. “I know the things you like to do when you’re ‘obliterated.’”

“Oh I’m wearing your favorite underwear for the occasion,” she winked. 

“The invisible kind?” he asked hopefully.

“The black mesh kind,” she replied and slipped back into the house. Jughead gave her a five-second head start so he could adjust his pants and then chased her into the living room. Everyone had changed out of their fancy clothes and heels and suits and whatnot and were laying on their respective couches, plates piled high with pad thai and spring rolls. 

Jughead noticed that Betty had already run up the stairs to change into whatever crazy short-shorts she was going to put on in order to drive him insane and decided to give her a second to get ready so he didn’t go up there and devour her right then and there.

But lord knows he wanted to.

He felt a presence move behind him and was immediately brought back to the party. He knew it wasn’t one of his people because they didn’t move like that.

It was…

Timid. 

He stood completely still as Ethel Muggs walked up to him and stood on his left. She was close enough that Jughead could feel the heat radiating off of her skin, and not in a good way. He started to turn and walk away when she grabbed his arm. 

He yanked it back fiercely and turned to her.

“Is there something you need, Ethel, or are you planning to throw another drink at my girlfriend tonight. Because we’re not at a place where I work or own so I won’t hesitate to let one of my girls take you out,” he said in a dangerously low voice. 

Ethel stood frozen in place but shook her head anyway. “I’m here to apologize,” she said. 

“Here’s the thing about apologies, Ethel,” he said and continued to slowly back away. “They only mean something if the person you’re apologizing too plans to accept.” At that, he turned his back and headed to the kitchen to get another drink.

_Ha. Obliterated._

He saw Reggie standing in the corner with one of his football friends and poured him a shot too. He walked over and handed Reggie the plastic shot glass. 

“What are we drinking to?” he asked.

“Getting out of here in a few days,” he muttered, completely forgetting that Reggie wasn’t coming with them, but Reggie, being the person he was, nodded, tapped his glass against Jughead’s and threw the shot back.

“Are you counting your drinks tonight?” Reggie asked. Jughead shrugged and Reggie pulled a sharpie out of his pocket and placed it in Jughead’s hand. “Just in case you want to.”

Reggie clapped him on the shoulder and turned back to his football friend who looked absolutely awed at the interacted he just witnessed. 

Jughead walked away with a drink for him and a drink for whichever of his friends he found first. 

It was Sweet Pea. He was standing by the bonfire and ripping out pages of a chemistry textbook that he was no doubt supposed to return.

“I brought you a drink,” Jughead said as he approached him. 

“No, you didn’t,” Sweet Pea laughed. “You brought you a drink and a drink for whoever you ran into first. We all do it.”

“Well I took shots with Reggie in the kitchen!” 

“We also all do that,” Sweet Pea said, continuing to remove pages from his chem book. “Have you seen our girl?” he asked. 

“Which one?” Jughead asked, even though he knew.”

“Cooper,” he said. “How’s she doing after all of this?”

“Like her mom?” he asked.

“No, like with getting drun- of course, her mom you dipshit!”

“Sorry, asshole!! I don’t know what she tells you during your little, ‘Betty and Sweet Pea’ talks!”

“And you never will!” Sweet Pea yelled as he threw his textbook into the air and smiled as it burned. 

“Why are we yelling?” a sweet voice asked as it got closer. Betty walked into Jughead’s outstretched arms and he kissed the margarita from her lips.

“I personally don’t think we yell enough,” Joaquin said as he walked over with Fangs. Reggie, Veronica, and Kevin arrived a few minutes later and Cheryl and Toni were the last to arrive. 

“So what should we do about that?” Sweet Pea asked, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and passing them to everyone who wanted to smoke. Jughead raised an eyebrow at Betty asking silently if she wanted one too. She had lightly picked up the habit when she was drunk but shook her head no. 

The five Serpents and Cheryl all leaned down and lit their cigarettes from the fire blazing bonfire. 

“What should we do about what?” Cheryl asked, inhaling her first drag of many throughout the night. 

“About the fact that we don’t yell enough,” Jughead said. A mean glint flashed across her eyes and she turned to Betty.

“Why the fuck would you even say that, Cooper?!” she screamed. 

Betty wasn’t even a bit taken aback when she replied with, “Say what, bitch!” her pitch rising with every word. 

“Hey don’t fucking yell at my girl!” Toni screamed, getting in Betty’s face. Veronica pulled her back just as Jughead _and_ Sweet Pea started yelling.

“Your girl started this shit!” Sweet Pea yelled as Jughead screamed, “DON’T CURSE AT BETTY!” 

At that point, a small crowd had formed around them and they all had to do everything in their power to not lose it and burst out laughing. 

And that’s when Cheryl threw herself at Betty. 

She was obviously expecting it though, and through the blaze of the fire, it wasn’t too obvious that the launching wasn’t real. Joaquin held Cheryl back and Sweet Pea grabbed Betty. Jughead and Toni started yelling nonsense about “a boy” at each other which they really knew was about Hot Dog and Reggie put his hand on Jughead’s chest trying to keep him at bay. 

“What the fuck do you think you are, Cher?” Veronica yelled. “Just because this is your house doesn’t mean you get to just get mad at people for no reason when you’re drunk.”

“Well excuuuuussseeeee me, Miss. ‘I Get To Live Here For Free,’” Cheryl yelled back.

“We all live here for free!” Reggie screamed from over everyone else. 

“Excuse me, Reggie, but no you don’t,” Fangs said.

“You don’t get to say anything, Reginald!” everyone said at the same time.

“Ahhhh!!!!!” Kevin yelled loudly, causing them all to stop. They looked like the scene that Jughead walked into at Pop’s all those months ago, only Sweet Pea was holding Betty back and Joaquin had Cheryl and Kevin was the one trying to get them to talk.

“Oh my fucking God that Jughead doesn’t believe in, what is happening here?” Kevin screamed.

And that’s when they fucking lost it. 

Cheryl and Betty collapsed to the ground laughing with Veronica, and Jughead was leaning on Reggie for support. Though Reggie wasn’t laughing as hard as the rest of them, they were all still completely losing it. 

Sweet Pea had bolted in the other direction he was laughing so hard and Fangs practically kissed Kevin he was so deliriously happy. 

“What?!” Kevin said harshly, trying to not break character. 

“Kev, honey,” Jughead said, taking a huge inhale through his nose. “I said the exact same thing the day I walked in on the infamous Pop’s brawl in October.” 

At those words, Kevin and Reggie caught on and they were all in tears laughing again. They sat down on the ground, legs tangled as Jughead and Joaquin relayed the story to Reggie who hadn’t heard it before. 

Sweet Pea came back and told everyone he was laughing so hard that he threw up which sent them into another round of hysterics. 

Veronica climbed into their lap and they sat next to the fire. “We came over here to tell you it was time,” she said. Cheryl stood up and grabbed the basket of flowers that Alice had sent and set it down in front of them all. They stood up and each grabbed a handful and stood next to the fire. 

“This is a funeral to the people who we were before we met each other. The people who were kicked down and abused. The people whose family died or left them or both. Those people served their purpose and lived their lives. But it’s time we let them go and move on so we can become the people we were meant to be,” Joaquin said. 

Jughead felt Betty squeeze his hand and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He met eyes with the rest of his family and they nodded.

“Here lie the people who got us to where we are today. To the people who held it together until we could learn to be ourselves. To the people who helped us find each other,” Jughead yelled so loud that it burned the back of his throat. 

They were silent again as they stood together as a family, as couples, and as individuals, ready to start their lives away from the trauma that had haunted them of so long. 

“Should we say something?” Reggie asked and Betty nodded. 

She took a moment before saying, “yell your favorite swear. Don’t care what it is, how dirty, how wrong, just yell it,” she said.

“BITCH!” Cheryl screamed and threw her handful in.

“CUNT!” Kevin yelled after.

“FUCK!!!!!!” Jughead roared.

“FUCK!” Fangs repeated. “You took mine, Boss Man!”

“GOD THAT JUGHEAD DOESN’T BELIEVE IN DAMN IT!” Veronica yelled with a giggle.

“BITCH!” Reggie said after her.

“CUNT!” Betty shrieked with laughter.

“SON OF A WHORE!” called Joaquin. 

“That was a good one, dad,” Reggie said.

“Fuck you.”

“BOLLOCKS!” Toni yelled. 

“Who even are you?” Jughead asked and threw her over his shoulder. 

It was Sweet Pea’s turn last. Everyone should have known that something wild was going to happen when he was given free rein to openly scream whatever swear word he wanted. 

“PUSSY ASS BITCHHHHH!!!!!!” he screamed and threw the flowers and the basket into the fire. Then he picked up Betty and tossed her around. After Jughead and Sweet Pea put the girls back down, they all sat on the ground in front of the fire, not at all caring that at least a hundred people just watched them stage a fake fight and have a funeral for their past selves. 

The rest of the night passed in a blur of tequila shots and throwing more things into the fire and Sweet Pea threatening to streak again when he got too drunk. Jughead saw Fangs and Reggie walk up the stairs together and knew from the bottom of his heart that there was no way Reggie wasn’t going to be in their lives once they moved to the city.

You don’t go through the type of friendship they have and just disappear.

Jughead lost Betty at one point and felt his blood boil when he saw her smoking a cigarette on the steps with Archie. Cheryl somehow appeared next to him and grabbed his hand, leading him back to the fire. 

“You have to understand that Archie and Betty have been friends since they were five. And there’s no way that part of that little funeral that we just had didn’t include saying good-bye to the part of her that loved him. She approached him, wanting to get closure and be able to leave and go off to New York without this idea that she needed to have hate forever.”

Jughead nodded and was annoyed at the practicality of the situation, but understood. He walked back over to the fire where Joaquin and Fangs were drinking some pink drink and smoking. Veronica had a joint lit and she passed it to him before he even sat down. 

He slouched down so he could lean his head on her shoulder and she squeezed his arm as they passed the joint back and forth. 

After about twenty minutes, Betty came back with a huge smile on her face. 

“Archie was following me around in chem all of last week because he’s honestly fucking insane and I am so glad I got to say that to him!” she exclaimed with a huge exhale. “Ronnie get off my boyfriend,” Betty fake scolded

“Betty you and Sweet Pea have regularly scheduled one on one time so you can discuss your feelings,” Veronica mocked. 

“It’s just because I’m trying to get to you baby,” Betty said and leaned down to grab Veronica’s hand. “If you’d excuse us boys, we’re going to go fulfill the last part of our pact,” Betty said with a wink.

“And what’s that?” Joaquin said skeptically.

“A threesome, obviously,” Cheryl said and stood up. She walked over to Betty and Veronica and the three of them walked inside. 

“I don’t know what my life would be like if they weren’t in it,” Joaquin said quietly and in awe.

“Do you think they’re actually having a threesome?” Fangs asked.

“Honestly?” Jughead said. “If they did, we would never know.”

They sat there in silence for who knows how long, and by the time the last person left it was six o’clock in the morning and the girls were nowhere to be found. They all exchanged a slightly worried glance as they trudged up the stairs to Cheryl’s room. 

They were fully clothed, shoes and all, laying on top of Cheryl’s bed. The soft glow from the TV illuminated their tear-stained cheeks and at once they all knew what had happened. 

Sweet Pea and Jughead grabbed Veronica and Betty and brought them to their own rooms after saying goodnight to everyone else. Toni opened their doors for them and Jughead kicked his closed behind them. 

He gently placed Betty on the bed and unzipped her dress and pulled off her heels. He grabbed a cool washcloth and tried to get the make-up off of her cheeks. Once he felt satisfied with the job he had done, he grabbed a clean t-shirt from the drawer next to the bed and put it on her. Then he grabbed a pair of his boxers and slid the thin thong off of her. 

He tucked her under the covers and then went to the bathroom to take a shower before getting in bed. 

When he got out, she was curled in the corner and he smiled at his beautiful girl. Without a second thought, he climbed into bed next to her and pressed his spine against hers. 

He closed his eyes and drifted off thinking that they only had a week before they left for New York but didn’t remember the to-do list he made when he woke up in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg hey  
> It's your girl  
> Did you think I forgot about you? Because I didn't!!
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, sorry that it has been 90000 years since I updated. Possible in denial that next chapter is the last chapter.
> 
> As always, lmk when you think. 
> 
> I love you!
> 
> Come tumble as always @blackberry-beee
> 
> Xx  
> BB


	26. Until Then

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The nine of them silently stood in front of Thornhill, looking at the house that they had all grown to think of as their home. 
> 
> They were on their way to a new home. A new chapter in their lives. A new story that they’d get to tell their kids one day. 
> 
> They had split up into girl’s cars and boy’s, and Betty stood against the hood of Jughead’s Jeep, twirling a lock of his hair between her fingers.
> 
> “Let’s hit the road, kids,” Joaquin yelled from the front porch. “We don’t want to hit traffic.”
> 
> Betty smiled at the chorus of “yes dad” that echoed across the driveway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the whole ass three-month wait. 
> 
> There is no excuse other than I was just so scared to finish the story. It was my first fit ever and the community I got from it was just so amazing I didn't know what to do.
> 
> Anyway, here's the last chapter of my baby.

_Until Then [I imagine]— Jill Scott_

Betty Cooper sat in the drivers seat of her dead father’s beat up truck in the driveway of her family home and tried not to throw up. 

They were leaving for New York in three days and she knew that if she didn’t get at least some of closure with Alice that she would spend the entirety of their drive in a state of panic that was completely separate from moving to a huge city with eight of her closest friends.

Pretending to need Alice’s number and “getting” it from Cheryl was the only normal thing that Betty could think of doing before driving the five point six miles from Thornhill to Elm St.

At first she pulled into the driveway where Jughead once sat at five thirty in the morning while he watched her run the morning of their first day of school together. She sighed and rested her head on the steering wheel before putting the car into reverse and pulling out of the driveway and into her own. 

So there she was, contemplating using the key that was hidden in the eve of her door or knocking. 

Using the key would provide her with the element of surprise. 

Knocking on the door would do the same.

So it boiled down to whether or not she wanted to have control of the situation.

Which is why at one in the afternoon, Betty Cooper marched into her home and tried to pretend she didn’t notice the hitch in her breath and the drop of her stomach as she entered.

“Alice?” she called, using her mothers name for the first time. She had always called her “mom” to her face and referred to her as Alice behind her back. 

However, Betty was trying to have control of the situation and felt that this was the best way to do it. 

She heard the hesitant but purposeful steps trudge down the stairs as she locked the door and when she turned around, she was faced with the woman who she swore she would never talk to again.

But you know what they say about definitives. 

“Betty,” Alice exclaimed with genuine surprise and she had to wonder who Alice thought it was.

“Well who else would it be?” Betty asked in an annoyed tone. The look on Alice’s face made the unnecessary “sorry” bubble onto the tip of her tongue and she had to catch it behind her teeth before it slipped out. 

“Right,” Alice said with uncertainty. “I didn’t expect to see you, well…”

“Ever?” Betty finished. 

Alice’s silence was deafening. 

“Well don’t worry,” Betty said softly, “after Saturday you truly won’t have to worry about it.” Alice raised an eyebrow and Betty continued. “You know, because we’re moving to the city.”

The look of shock that crossed her face made the scared little girl that still lived in Betty’s chest smile. Betty pushed past her and sat on the stool at the kitchen counter. She rested her elbows and beckoned Alice over with a small smile.

Again, with the hesitation, Alice walked over and sat down too, but making sure to leave two stools between them.

“So you’re moving,’ Alice said. It wasn’t a question.

“We are,” Betty said, making sure to express that it was more than just her, that she had garnered a support system while the one at home was rapidly crumbling. 

“That’s…” Alice started, “nice.”

This slightly angered Betty.

“The best you can do is ‘ _nice?_ ’” Betty sneered. 

“I don’t know what else to say!” Alice exclaimed, voice rising. 

_You don’t have the right to yell._

“Fine,” Betty said and stood up. “I didn’t need to come here. I came to get closure and to thank you for the cake and the flowers but you’re still just incapable of expressing emotion.” She walked over to the door when she heard it.

“I don’t know how to say sorry for everything,” Alice whispered. “How do you apologize for the things that I’ve done?” 

_You don’t._

“You don’t,” Betty conceded to say after a moment. “But you _try._ When your daughter is in visible pain or living in a state of constant numbness you don’t make _her_ the villain. You didn’t even begin to try, Alice,” Betty breathed. 

“And when I left, when a seventeen year old is kicked out of their home and then moves in with a bunch of other teenagers, you _attempt_ to check in. Not go MIA.”

Alice said nothing and Betty turned to leave again. 

“I know I can’t say that I’m sorry enough times for it to count. But I am. And I know that it won’t matter in a week or a month or even ten years, but I am.” 

Betty kept her back to Alice and inhaled deeply. 

“Thank you,” she said. “I hope that when we come back, _if_ we come back, that you and I can talk again.” She looked over her shoulder and smiled slightly. “Maybe then it will count.”

At that, before she could break down in tears and run back to Alice and feel even weaker than she did before, Betty took three strides towards the front door, turned the handle and stepped out onto the front porch. 

Pulling the door shut behind her, she let a few tears slip before walking out towards her car. Deciding not to ignore the feeling that she was being watched, Betty turned in the direction of where she was originally parked.

There, leaning against his Jeep, two milkshakes in hand was her Beanie Boy. A huge smile broke out across his face as he saw her walked towards him. He placed the shakes on the hood of his car and met her half way. 

She immediately folded herself into his arms and sighed. 

“I figured you might want to leave the truck here, drink a few milkshakes and maybe have car sex before we have to pack up an entire house, and an apartment, _and_ train a sixteen year old on how to run a bar,” Jughead said with a smile.

Betty pulled back and pressed her lips to his. 

“How did you know?” she asked, giggling. They walked back to this car and he opened the door for her. She slid into the passenger seat and he shut the door behind her. 

He got in, handed her her milkshake and started the car. 

“Didn’t you know?” he asked cheekily. “I can read your brilliant little mind.”

Toni could finally breathe. 

When she as twelve years old she knew that she was attracted to women and that she would never love a man the way that you were “supposed” to. She knew that she didn’t want her identity to be based on her sexuality, but that didn’t stop her from leaning into it. She got a bunch of piercings, dyed her hair pink and did a bunch of drugs from the age of sixteen until the first day that she actually met Cheryl. 

She had never told anyone that when they pulled up to Pop’s that fateful afternoon that she had done a bump before getting into Jughead’s car. 

But she never did coke again. 

Cheryl was the type of girl that would tolerate drug use for all of about twenty seconds before making it very clear that Toni would need to choose. 

So she quit right then and there, never once wanting to even use again. 

And Toni could finally breathe.

She was moving to one of the most nonjudgmental places in the world with the only real family she had ever known and felt like the weight of being a Southside Serpent and what that meant for her identity was being slowly lifted off her and she…

She could finally breathe. 

Toni looked across the room and saw the love of her life blinking rapidly and swallowing hard as she pulled her clothes out of the hundred-year-old wardrobe that had sat in the corner of her room for over a century. She watched as she tried to inconspicuously wipe her cheeks and fold a bright red sweater, shoving it into a suitcase. 

Toni ignored all of her instincts that told her to go over and comfort Cheryl in this time of incredible transition. She knew that all Cheryl wanted was to _not_ breakdown and Toni knew that if she wrapped her arms around the girl that she wouldn’t be able to stop. 

So Toni did what any normal person would do. She took a deep breath.

Because she was finally able to breathe. 

Kevin was terrified. 

He was the only person in his entire group who had a good relationship with his parents. Well, maybe Reggie did. Even though his dad was the Sheriff and his whole “family” were part of the gang that his father had been trying to dismantle for years. 

And now he was moving to a big city with his soulmates and trying to reconcile that for the first time he wouldn’t be living with a parent. 

Everyone else had been living on their own since they were sixteen or seventeen and while Kevin spent the majority of his time with them, there were still nights that he would go home, sit on the couch with his dad and talk about the days while sharing a whole pizza.

He didn’t want to admit it, be he was really going to miss his dad. 

No one was judgmental or annoyed that he decided to spend the second to last night that they lived in Riverdale in his childhood bedroom. He paced around the room and looked at the gunmetal grey walls and tried to choke back all of the fears he had about living in a new place.

He was terrified. 

But he was also so unbelievably relieved that he wasn’t going to be stuck in this small town as the resident Riverdale gay. (Even though Toni and Cheryl and Joaquin and Fangs and Reggie all had joined him in his outness.) He was relieved that his dad wouldn’t have to worry about him getting involved with gang violence as they were all leaving the Serpents and the fear of a rival member showing up in the middle of the night dissipated as fast as fog on a hot summer’s day.

“You’re going to be fine,” he whispered at the ceiling as his unwilling eyes tried to stay open. He thought he was far too worried to sleep a wink that night.

The soft lull of the room around him and the sleep that ran down his body like warm honey let him know that it was going to be okay.

But he was still terrified.

Reggie didn’t want them to leave. 

In retrospect, he wished that he hadn’t told Fangs that he wasn’t up for long distance. He wished that he had confided in Jughead or Sweet Pea about his fears. He wished he had done something. 

But instead, he sat very still on the edge of Fang’s bed and tried to breathe steadily through the hot and tight iron grip of sadness that was squeezing his throat. He kept looking at the way that he moved and how much he was going to miss grabbing him by the waist arm and pressing his head into Fangs’ hair. 

It was so damn soft. 

He didn’t want them to leave. 

He knew that logically if he told _anyone_ that he wanted to come with them, that he took back the things he said about being scared, that they would welcome him with open arms and rush over to his house to help him pack a bag. 

But instead he sat silently on the bed until the words tumbled out of his mouth and pierced the air in a way that he could never take back.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he blurted out. 

Fangs stilled, the sweatshirt in his hand dangling by the hood. He turned slowly to face him and Reggie shifted over in a half-assed invitation for Fangs to sit on the bed. 

Fangs dropped the sweatshirt and walked over in a few steps. He sat down next to him and dropped his head on Reggie’s shoulder. He wrapped his arms around him slowly and they sat there in silence, understanding the severity of his words but not knowing how to respond. 

“You can still come,” Fangs said after a moment, but Reggie just said nothing. “Okay,” Fangs responded by lifting his head, “then we can still try.” 

Reggie thought about it for a long moment and then moved his body so he could buy his face in Fangs’ chest. This time he nodded and Fangs fisted his hand into Reggie’s hair. 

He really didn’t want them to leave.

Cheryl was trying not to cry.

However, her eyes were betraying her and the hot pin pricks were becoming too much. She could feel Toni looking at her behind her back and gave her a half-assed, “I just need some fresh air,” as she bolted from the room and walked out of the house. She passed Betty and Jughead sitting on their couch and Veronica walking over with a box of pizza but didn’t stop to talk to them. 

She was trying not to cry. 

She made it out to the end of the driveway but took a hard left before reaching the main road. Walking on the almost invisible path she took deep breaths and held it together until she reached a small clearing with a wooden swing hanging from a tall branch. 

It was her and Jason’s spot. 

When they were kids, Jason climbed to the top of the tree and hung two thick pieces of rope from the branch and then attached an equally thick plank of wood to the rope. Cheryl would always get to go first and Jason would try to push her as high as he could, giggling uncontrollably along the way. 

“Cherry you’re going to fly!” he would yell and she would close her eyes and pretend that she was soaring above all else and sometimes let go with one hand to flap her wings. 

She was trying not to cry. 

She knew that they would always come back to this place if they needed to, but she also knew that she hadn’t spent enough time in their spot since her friends had moved in. Not that she was upset by it, but that morning at four am she woke with a start and realized she hadn’t gone down to the swing in almost a year. 

“I’m moving to New York,” she said softly and looked up. “I know we haven’t talked in awhile. I promise I’m happy. And I’m loved. And I’m excited to see what’s next.” 

She looked down again and took another deep breath. 

“It still doesn’t mean that I don’t want you with me.”

She was trying not to cry. 

Veronica couldn’t stop moving.

In less than twenty-four hours they would be on the road and headed to New York, and Veronica would be back to where he life had begun. 

She loved Riverdale and all that it had given her, I mean, look at her life. She had met the people that she was destined to spend the rest of her life with and she knew that if they had all decided to stay in Riverdale that she would stay too.

But they had decided to go to New York fucking City, and she couldn’t stop moving. 

She had decided to drive her little while convertible to the pizza shop and smiled at the guy who always made their order. She paced around the shop for a few minutes before sitting down. She tried to keep still but her knees betrayed her and she bounced them up and down and up and down and up and down until the man yelled, “your order, miss. Do you need help bringing it to your car?”

Veronica looked at the _seven_ boxes of pizza stacked on the counter and decided to do something that she normally would never. 

“No, it’s okay,” she said with a smile. “I’ll take trips.”

She couldn’t stop moving. 

When she got back to the house she once again took trips from her car to the kitchen and declined all six invitations for help that were voiced from the plush couches that they were leaving behind. 

She dropped them all in the kitchen only to turn around and bring them right back out to the living room. One pie at a time. She saw Cheryl running out of the house and thought about following her but decided against it. She sat down on the couch and tried not to fidget but couldn’t stop twisting the rings on her fingers. Sweet Pea looked concerned and Betty kept sending her raised eyebrows but Veronica couldn’t care less.

Because in less than twenty-four hours Veronica would be free of the confines of Riverdale, the close quarters of her parents approval, and back in the city that she really called home. 

She couldn’t stop moving.

Fangs wanted Reggie to come with them.

He felt very stupid that he let the idea of a long distance relationship break them up.

Even though they really didn’t. 

At this point he didn’t even remember the speculation that his friends had made around an “announcement” that they were going to make. He just remembered walking around that week numb to the idea that he had blurted out, “I think we should break up before I go,” and then couldn’t take back the words. He became even more numb to the idea when Reggie agreed and told him that he too wasn’t up for long distance. 

Fangs could see the regret in his eyes.

He knew that Reggie could see it too.

But they were stuck in a limbo of fucking quietly in Fangs’s room and avoiding eye-contact in the halls later. 

Fangs just wanted Reggie to come. 

Joaquin was tired.

But he was so so excited. He could tell that everyone was on edge, he could feel their energy radiating in all sorts of directions, and not to be rude, but he didn’t give a single fuck. He was so excited that he literally pranced around Thornhill, singing bad music into everyone’s faces, kissing his friend’s cheeks and telling that it would be okay, running around his trailer and gathering his things, packing up his whole life into two boxes and two duffle bags. 

But he was exhausted. It was really fucking tiring to be the only one who had any sort of enthusiasm in the week leading up to their move after graduation. But he didn’t let it bother him in the slightest. 

“Dude,” Sweet Pea said one morning, cup of coffee gripped tightly in his hand. “You’re really fucking annoying right now.” 

Joaquin just rolled his eyes and poured himself a cup of the jet fuel that he knew Sweet Pea had made hours ago. He threw it into the microwave and continued to him a Jill Scott song that Betty had put on the night before. 

“I’m not annoying,” he insisted as he poured creamer into his coffee. “I’m just, happy, aren’t you?”

Sweet Pea took a sip of his coffee and looked out of the kitchen window. 

“It’s not that I’m not happy,” he mumbled. “It’s that you all know what you’re doing and I don’t. I’m walking in with a sort of job at a mechanic’s shop while you all will be crying over school work,” he said with a scoff.

“I mean,” Joaquin said slowly. “It could be worse. You could be going, alone, and needing to figure out rent and bills without the absolute understanding that _your_ girlfriend’s dad is going to be paying for everything. You could be going and end up back in Riverdale two months later. But you’re not. You’re going with literally the most insane group of people who love you more than anyone in this world,” Joaquin explained. He took another sip of coffee, hoping that it would knock the sleep out from behind his eyes and allow him to make more sense, have more clarity, and offer more to Sweet Pea. “Including me,” he said finally, smiling at his best friend. 

“Aw, dad,” Sweet Pea said with a grin, “are you getting soft on me?”

“Clearly,” Joaquin said with a smile and slapped Sweet Pea’s arm before walking out and heading back up to his room, deciding that sleeping for another few hours was worth the talking to he’d receive from Cheryl later on.

Sweet Pea hadn’t eaten in days.

Even though Veronica had brought their normal order of seven pizza’s home, he couldn’t find himself able to take a bite. They were all sitting on their respective couches and Veronica was twisting her rings next to him and Sweet Pea couldn’t take it anymore. 

“Boss Man, I’m stealing your girl,” he said suddenly and grabbed Betty by the arm.

He heard Jughead call out from behind him, “make sure you bring her back _not_ crying, Pea. Last time that happened you got punched in the nuts by Cheryl.”

Sweet Pea continued to move though out the house until they made their way to the back porch where they usually had their late night “talk it out’s” when Betty couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to bother Jughead. They sat down on the wood and leaned against the house.

“What?” Betty asked in a nervous voice as she sat down across from him. 

“I can’t eat,” he grumbled. “Every time I try my mouth gets all dry and it’s really quite annoying.”

“Is there anything you _want_ to eat?” she asked. 

He shook his head but then smiled. “Wanna go for a drive?”

She smiled and stood up. She grabbed his hand and half-heartedly pulled him up too. They walked over to his car and Betty hopped into the drivers seat, and turned his big truck around the driveway and headed towards Pop’s. 

When they walked in Pop waved at them and said with a smile, “Betty girl, what did I tell you about hanging out with this one?”

“Hey!” Sweet Pea said back. “I’ve gotten much better since knowing this one,” and threw his arm around her shoulder. “Probably the best I’ve ever been.”

“Oh I know that,” Pop said with a smile and pulled out the pad from his front pocket, but then slowly put it down as he realized they came in to order their usual.

“I take it you’re bringing food home for the entire family?” he asked. 

“We wouldn’t be allowed home if we didn’t,” Betty expressed. “But is it cool if I make us some milkshakes while we’re waiting for the food?” Pop nodded and squeezed Betty’s hand before walking back to the kitchen to start their massive ten person order. 

Betty moved around so she was standing in front of Sweet Pea as she so often did. She grabbed the ingredients to make a double chocolate shake with extra coffee ice cream and got to work on his signature. 

“We’re going to be okay, babe,” she said and squeezed his hand. “There’s everything to be nervous about, but that’s cool. We’re all fully freaking out. I think Cheryl cries for most of the day every day. But that’s just life and growing up. And we happen to have done that really fast and really aggressively and now we’re moving on. But really,” she said and slid his milkshake towards him. “It’s going to be okay.”

Sweet Pea looked at her for a long moment before putting the tip of the straw to his mouth and inhaling the drink that she made.

And he was finally hungry.

**(JPOV)**

He decided that he was’t going to visit his dad, but just give him a call instead.

He was too happy about the move and about re-starting his life to bring himself down and visiting a jail and looking at his sullen faced father. 

They were leaving the next day. Cheryl had finally stopped crying and was blasting her bad top-forties playlist as she danced around the house and packed it all up. Joaquin had joined in on multiple occasions as well as Betty and Veronica, who were somehow able to convince a very reluctant Sweet Pea and Jughead to dance with them. 

It was like the Halloween party all over again.

Only this time, Jughead was able to kiss Betty whenever he wanted. 

It was five o’clock the night before they were going to leave. Betty was putting heaping piles of Chinese food together on plates for each of them in the kitchen, and he leaned against the door frame, admiring his soulmate as she did was she did best.

Care for other people.

He pushed himself off of the door and walked over. He wrapped his arms around her and smiled into her neck. 

“Hi beautiful,” he breathed. “How was your day? I feel like I’ve barely seen you?” 

“It was good,” she sighed. “I grabbed all of the stuff left in the apartment and made sure that it was all clean before coming back over. Then I went on a long walk with Hot Dog. He’s gonna be in a car for so long tomorrow that it didn’t feel right not letting him run around the clearing behind the drive in. Plus, when we’re in New York he’s not going to have as much space anyway.”

Jughead beamed at her thoughtfulness and turned her around so he could kiss her forehead. 

“I love you,” he said. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the lips. 

“And I love you.” 

“What were you talking to Sweet Pea about the other day?” he asked. He wasn’t worried about their relationship anymore. It was definitely weird at the beginning, before they were together, before Homecoming and Halloween and the kiss. It was even weird after the kiss. But now he realized that they needed each other as much as he needed the others in their group. It was just what and who they were. 

“He was so nervous that he couldn’t eat. So we went to Pop’s and I made him his special milkshake and we talked it out. Then he pounded like fifty burgers and slept for the first time since graduation.”

Jughead smiled and said, “that sounds about right.”

They brought the plates of food out to everyone who was sitting on the couch. They decided that they were going to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (again) and Jughead sank into his couch with Betty. 

“Are you sure we can’t bring these with us?” he said around a mouthful of lo mein. The dark green, squashy corduroy couch was practically a staple in their relationship now. And they weren’t planning to ever come back to Riverdale, so Jughead was very confused as to why they couldn’t bring it with them.

“Because it’s going to clash with the boho-scandinavian decor of the new apartment,” Cheryl said simply. She bit into her egg roll and raised an eyebrow, daring him to argue.

He was about to complain when multiple voices chimed in. 

“I am the gayest one here and I don’t even know what the fuck you just said,” Kevin yelled.

“Boho what?” Fangs asked confused.

“I don’t even want to even think about understanding what that means,” Sweet Pea groaned and rested his head on Veronica’s shoulder.”

“ _Okay,_ ” Jughead stressed. “We can go into detail of what boho-scandinavian means later. I just want to know why we can’t bring this and we just keep it in our room…” Jughead asked. Cheryl looked confused for a moment, which Jughead internally smirked at because he was never able to catch her off guard. 

“Maybe,” she finally said with a sigh. 

“You’re as stubborn as a fucking stump,” Jughead groaned and threw his head back onto the back of the couch. “Can I at least move the couch to my apartment tonight so it’s safe? I’m not convinced you’re mom’s not going to come back and torch the whole place.”

“Honestly I’m not convinced either,” Cheryl quipped and stood up. She walked over to them and kissed Jughead on the cheek. “You can move it tonight to your apartment if you really want to,” she resigned and walked back into the kitchen to grab another egg roll. 

“I love you!” he called out. She flipped him off with her free hand and everyone laughed. 

“Does anyone want to make a fire tonight?” Reggie asked in a soft voice. Jughead looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes. Him and Fangs were orbiting around each other like moths to a flame. It was hard for them to be doing this. To see everyone be so excited. 

Jughead agreed immediately. 

After they finished eating and Jughead moved the couch into the bed of Sweet Pea’s truck, he snuck behind Betty and swung her around in a circle. It was dusk and no one could see them. He could hear the voices of them in the distance and see the glow of the fire illuminate the trees around them.

“Remember when Fangs was scared to tell us that he and Reggie were a thing and he got so drunk we thought he was going to die?” Betty asked as she looked up at the stars. 

“And Sweet Pea ran naked through the woods for no reason other than he could?” Jughead replied with a laugh. 

“This year was good,” she said after a moment of silence. “I mean not the Archie and Alice part. And not the whole guy in the office thing. But other than that, this was the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” 

“Me too,” he whispered and kissed her neck slowly. He could feel her smile as the muscles of her neck tightened. 

“We move to New York tomorrow,” she said. 

“We sure fucking do.”

They were all sitting in a circle by the fire, for the first time, not talking. Jughead was sitting on the ground with his body pressed against Cheryl’s knees. She was sitting on a bench above him and playing with Toni’s hair. Betty was leaning with her back against Veronica across the circle from him and he kept making funny faces through the fire that made her smile widely. 

Finally, Reggie broke the ice.

“I hate all of you for leaving me in this humdrum town,” he grumbled. 

No one said anything until Jughead spoke up a few minutes later. “I mean, you could always meet us there.”

There was silence again. 

“Fangs _does_ have his own room,” Veronica said in a sing song voice. She winked at them and then continued. “You don’t have to decide this very moment. But you’re always welcome to come move into Casa De Lodge-Blossom-Topaz-Pea-DeSantos-Keller-Fogarty-Jones-Cooper,” she said in one breath.

“Why does Betty get to go last?” Joaquin whined. 

“Because Betty is the best,” Veronica said. 

“Well then can I at least be next to Cheryl?” he asked.

“But then we have to reorganize the whole thing,” Cheryl yelled.

“Okay but I just don’t see why it can’t be ‘Casa De Lodge-Pea-Topaz-Blossom-DeSantos-Keller-Fogarty-Jones-Cooper!”

“Why is this even an issue?” Jughead said pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Because, Jones!” Joaquin yelled out, but that was as far as he got. 

“That’s what I thought.”

“Do you think people think we’re weird?” Fangs asked. 

“Oh one hundred percent,” Reggie said. “This group consists of a person named _Fangs_ , a gang leader, a guy who enjoys beating up people for fun, a dad who is afraid of yelling, the gayest person ever, the smallest human on planet earth, an ex-twin mustard and ketchup bottle, an heiress, and a peppy blonde girl who’s dad killed a bunch of people.”

“My dad actually only killed one person,” Betty said matter-of-factly. 

“And Jughead’s dad was accused of killing my brother. But it was actually _my_ dad,” Cheryl added.

“And they’re related.”

“And both dead, actually.”

The group was silent. No one said a fucking thing. 

“I just want to go back in time and hug both of you as children,” Joaquin said slowly.

“Yeah I think a lot of people want to do that.”

Jughead stood up and walked to where Betty and Veronica were. He bent down and picked up Veronica, passing her over to Sweet Pea and then pulling Betty onto his lap. 

“What is it with you and moving people?” Kevin asked. 

“It’s just easier than asking them to move,” he replied in a tone that suggested the matter was closed.

They put on soft music with words Jughead probably wouldn’t remember tomorrow on his drive. 

It was the perfect last night. 

**(BPOV)**

The nine of them silently stood in front of Thornhill, looking at the house that they had all grown to think of as their home. 

They were on their way to a new home. A new chapter in their lives. A new story that they’d get to tell their kids one day. 

They had split up into girl’s cars and boy’s, and Betty stood against the hood of Jughead’s Jeep, twirling a lock of his hair between her fingers.

“Let’s hit the road, kids,” Joaquin yelled from the front porch. “We don’t want to hit traffic.”

Betty smiled at the chorus of “yes dad” that echoed across the driveway.

Jughead pulled Betty’s face towards her and she asked, “so I’ll see you at our new apartment, Beanie Boy?”

He smiled and lifted her hand so it was right against his lips. They stayed like that for a few moments before Jughead kissed her knuckles and said:

“Until then, Betty Cooper.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you!!! This story was my intro into the Bughead fandom and I just... ugh I love you all so much.
> 
> There _will_ be a sequel. I'll probably finish BRR and the compound first but yeah, these kids need a sequel.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are appreciated. 
> 
> And YOURE appreciated. Stay safe tomorrow (if you're in the US)
> 
> Xx  
> BB

**Author's Note:**

> Did you like? Is Juggie’s inner-monologue too angsty? Well guess what, it only gets angstier. Betty will definitely cool down a bit and not be so aggressive towards the rest of the Serpents, but I like strong Betty, so we’ll see if that changes at all. The other Riverdale characters are on their way into the story (see:tags) and will probably will show up in the next chapter. 
> 
> I plan to post a new chapter every Tuesday. I commute a lot on the train so I have ample time to stress over what the F these characters are doing.
> 
> Please please please comment and let me know what you thought.
> 
> Xx  
> BB


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